Wooden container huts meant for thousands of athletes have become the subject of heated criticism ahead of the opening of Japan’s Asian Games on Saturday.
Jung Jae-yong, vice-president of the Korea Basketball Association, told AFP news agency the accommodation was the “worst it has ever been”.
“Athletes who are over two metres (6ft 7in) tall cannot even stretch their legs out on the beds. It’s unreasonable.”
The Games, held in the city of Nagoya and wider Aichi prefecture, have faced weeks of concern about a potential shortage of beds. More than 17,000 athletes and officials are attending – exceeding the initial 15,000 expected.
The containers, which will be housing around 2,000 of the guests and are designed to be reused as disaster evacuation facilities, have been beset by complaints.
A member of the South Korea basketball team posted a video of a leaking pipe and soaked floor in his room, with the caption: “Please help me.”
Athletes were also briefly evacuated from the containers as record rainfall lashed Nagoya last week and caused widespread flooding. Water leakage was reported in some of the competition venues too.
Jung, the basketball official, told AFP that concerns over accommodation were shared by representatives from the other countries at the Games.
