By Amlan Chakraborty
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Organisers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games apologised on Saturday for the logistical glitches dogging the event, but none of it seemed to affect China, who powered past the 100-gold medal mark in the continental showpiece event.
Despite the issues off the field, hosts Japan reported steady progress at the halfway stage and found a feelgood story in 11-year-old Esports prodigy Yuki Kurihara, who won a puzzle video game title by dominating a field containing
opponents three times his age.
The 20th Asian Games have been beset by problems that jarred with the hosting credentials of a country that staged the Olympics five years ago.
Satoshi Murate, Secretary-General of the local organising committee, said a late influx of around 2,000 additional athletes and officials had stretched resources.
"There have been mistakes in accommodation and transport, for various reasons," Murate said.
"Whatever the cause, AINAGOC is responsible for providing the service, and I frankly apologise for the mistakes.
"Our staff work every day to identify the causes of each mistake and make sure they don't happen again. I think you can see that accommodation and transport have improved greatly compared with the early days."
Japan, however, remained on course to surpass their haul of 52 golds from the Hangzhou Games three years ago.
"At this halfway point, we've been told by our strategy team that we are progressing steadily in terms of the number of medals, including gold medals, as well as our overall medal count," Chef de Mission Kosei Inoue said.
Inoue said narrowing the gap to China would require learning from the powerhouse.
"For team Japan, that is a big stimulus and a learning opportunity, both for these Games and for the future of sport," said the former Olympic champion judoka.
"There is a lot we can learn from them. We want to keep growing and keep working hard to catch up, even if only little by little."
ESPORT PRODIGY
Japan's Esports future looked particularly bright as Kurihara proved later in the day.
The bespectacled youngster barely broke a sweat as he cruised past South Korea's Kang Dong Shin in Puyo Puyo Champions at the Aichi Sky Expo Hall.
An embodiment of focus and precision throughout his campaign, he sounded every bit the excited kid at the medal ceremony.
"The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy," Yuki gushed. "Also, the plush toy is super cute, and it's cool that it is gold-coloured too."
Kang had no qualms with the outcome, admitting Yuki was "above my level".
On the roads, Ichitaka Yamashita bided his time before surging to a commanding marathon gold on a wet morning to thrill home fans lining the streets. Bahrain's Shitaye Eshete rolled back the years to win the women's race.
China's Wang Nan repeated her Asian Games double-gold success from three years ago by winning the kayak single 500m on the final day of canoe sprint action.
In shooting, compatriot Han Jiayu clinched the women's 50m rifle 3 positions with her final shot to secure her third gold of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
China also made a perfect start in diving at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, winning the women's synchronised 10m platform and the men's synchronised 3m springboard.
India won both the men's and women's kabaddi gold, beating Iran in both finals.
Asian junior champion Albert Delos Santos won an emotional bronze medal in the 70kg category. It continued a strong family legacy in weightlifting, with both his parents national weightlifters and his sister Dessa having represented the Philippines in Jakarta eight years ago.
(Additional reporting by Ian Ransom and Irene Wang in Nagoya; Editing by Ed Osmond)
