India-Pakistan men's cricket final and hockey semi-final became the most-viewed matches in Asian Games history. Both games went down to the wire, and the Indian camp got the top spot in both. Officials said they tried to give athletes the best conditions, even though they faced many operational challenges.
It is worth noting that the OCA didn't release the exact viewership numbers, and Ikram also didn't reveal which of the two matches had higher viewership.
“For the very first time, the OCA demonstrated a safeguarding principle in these Games. From all aspects it was a safe Games -- for athletes, for Asian federations and for the National Olympic Committees,” he stated.
Both the cricket and hockey matches between India and Pakistan went down to the wire, and the contest was a little too close to call. In the end, the Indian camp came out on top in both games.
However, the OCA downplayed the criticism, saying there would always be challenges in managing multi-sport events.
“We are also aware that there were some complaints, and there were certain issues which were highlighted. Of course, there were some challenges, but the way we handled the challenges should be more important to highlight,” Ikram said.
“We tried to give our athletes the best conditions, logistics and communications. We have had many Games like Olympic Games, Asian Games, other continental Games, and there are always some challenges in the operations,” he added.
The OCA Director General, Husain Al-Musallam, also revealed that 54 world records, 11 junior world records, 89 Asian records, and 212 Asian Games records were broken during the Aichi-Nagoya edition.
“This achievement does not come without the best environment the organising committee created for the athletes. The athletes cannot perform if they don't sleep well, don't eat well and don't have good transportation. We are happy to see that there is no big financial burden on the organising committee, and there is no white elephant left staying in Nagoya or anywhere,” said Husain.
“Yes, the organising committee had challenges. But our duty and responsibility as leaders was to work hard with the organising committee to help Japan demonstrate to the world that Japan can deliver, with all the challenges, the best Games: the best environment for the athletes, the best coordination, the best peaceful (event),” he added.