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Sex cases taint show as torch arrives in Incheon
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THE Asian Games torch arrived in host city Incheon yesterday, two days before the opening ceremony that will formally inaugurate the two-week competition featuring almost 10,000 athletes.
The torch will be stored overnight in the port city west of Seoul before being carried on the final stages of its 6,000-kilometer journey around South Korea set to culminate in Friday night’s opening ceremony featuring “Gangnam Style” singer PSY and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
The football tournament began on Sunday and Japan, the defending men’s champion, already has posted a victory over Kuwait. The Japanese men were playing their second game against Iraq, which took silver at the 1996 Asian Games and opened the 2014 tournament with a 4-0 win over Nepal. Among other matches yesterday, host South Korea plays Saudi Arabia, both of which won their first matches.
Athletes from the Far East to the Middle East are competing in 42 sports at the Asian Games, a key testing ground for many of them ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio. China has sent the largest contingent of nearly 900 athletes and is again expected to top the medal standings. Tiny Brunei has the smallest delegation, with just 11 athletes.
Sexual harassment cases, however, tainted the build-up after an Iranian official was kicked out for verbally harassing a volunteer and a Palestinian footballer was accused of groping a woman in the athletes village.
The Olympic Council of Asia threw the Iranian official out after South Korean police charged him with sexual harassment while the Palestinian has been charged with the same offense and banned from leaving the country.
The OCA said in a statement yesterday that Amereh Ahmad, who looked after the equipment for the Iran soccer team, had been banned from all Games sites, including the athletes village, venues and hotels.
The OCA has also asked Iran’s National Olympic Committee to send him home.
Police had said on Tuesday they had charged the Iran official following a complaint by a female volunteer. Police said he had admitted touching the volunteer but did not consider his actions illegal.
The statement came after police charged a Palestinian soccer team with sexual harassment following a complaint from a female staff member at the athletes village. The incident occurred after the player suggested they take a photograph together on Tuesday.
The player, who was not identified, was charged without physical detention and the case transferred to the prosecutor's office, the police confirmed.
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