Games ‘hiccups’ played down after 16 fall ill
SOUTHEAST Asian Games chiefs yesterday played down “hiccups” at the event as they revealed that 16 Malaysian athletes had been hit by food poisoning in the competition’s latest mishap.
One of the 16 was hospitalised and a swimmer was forced to miss a race after the athletes, who are all staying at the same hotel, fell ill on Wednesday, officials said.
Among other incidents, an upside-down flag caused fury in Indonesia and squash players from Myanmar were injured in a bus crash.
But SEA Games Federation President Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar said some problems were to be expected at an event which is being run on a tight budget.
“It’s run by ver y senior people i n government, but it’s t he implementation perhaps lower down and a lot of inexperience of Games that has caused some hiccups a long t he way,” he said.
Officials said they were still trying to identify the source of the food poisoning, which left one athlete in hospital and 15 confined to their hotel.
The outbreak is not the first problem at the biennial SEA Games, which has 11 nations competing in a diverse array of sports from swimming to martial art wushu, and still has nearly a week to run.
Organisers mistakenly printed Indonesia’s flag upside- down in a commemorative booklet, prompting protests and revenge hacking attacks by Indonesian activists.
Among a litany of transport incidents, eight people suffered minor injuries in a bus crash, forcing two squash players from Myanmar to pull out of their doubles matches.
Myanmar’s women’s football team was stranded when their bus driver was arrested for stealing a watch, and on several occasions athletes have been late after drivers lost their way.
Two Myanmar football fans were beaten up after a match against Malaysia, and the home fans were also condemned for chanting “Singapore dogs” during another game.
Low Beng Choo, secretary of the Games’ sports and technical committee, said the SEA Games Federation was meeting Malaysia’s football association to discuss tightening security before the home side’s semifinal on Saturday.