Amid teen triumph and organisational chaos, Asian Games close in Japan

After two weeks of youthful brilliance on the field amid logistical dysfunction and subdued public interest off it, the curtain has come down on the 20th Asian Games in Japan. Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani declared the Games closed at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Sunday, with the torch handed to organisers of the next event in Doha, Qatar, in 2030. Some 17,000 athletes and officials came for the Aichi-Nagoya showpiece – more than the participants in the Paris Olympics – with athletes competing in 469 gold-medal events spanning Tokyo to Osaka. The massive scale clashed with organisers’ planning for a “simple, streamlined and functional event” — and the results were often chaotic.