Wrong national anthems were played three times at the Asian Para Games in Japan's Nagoya, prompting Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa to publicly apologise. According to Al Jazeera, the mayor stated that the repeated mistakes were unacceptable after previous tournament issues.
Al Jazeera reported that on Monday, an Iranian national anthem was played in its entirety for a Taiwanese athlete who won a men's para taekwondo competition. The Iranian anthem was played again that day during a women’s para taekwondo ceremony as a Mongolian competitor was receiving the gold medal, with the error stopped after the Mongolian delegation pointed out the mistake. In a separate incident on Monday, Al Jazeera stated that officials broadcast the South Korean anthem for about five seconds instead of the Chinese one before a sitting volleyball match between China and Iran.
Background
According to Al Jazeera, the Asian Para Games are taking place in the central Japanese hub city through Saturday, featuring about 4,000 athletes and officials in 18 sports. The recent blunders follow earlier criticism faced by the Asian Games, which concluded in early October, for shortcomings that included inadequate accommodations for athletes and the playing of incorrect national anthems, such as when organisers played North Korea’s national anthem for the South Korean hockey team on September 18.
Why it matters
According to Al Jazeera, the mayor stated that officials implemented steps to prevent mistakes following similar issues during the Asian Games, but the recurrence of these errors led to the public apology.