The Aporia · Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games

Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Wade, S. (2026, September 19). Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/olympic-council-of-asia-president-says-politics-have-already-entered-into-the-asian-games/article_bc319d30-57ab-5294-8745-18992bbc005d.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, expressed frustration over political interference during the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. The issue arose when Taiwan’s sports minister was initially barred from a welcoming ceremony but later allowed to participate after what was described as a misunderstanding. Sheikh Joaan indicated that protocols are in place to address such incidents, emphasizing that politics and sports should remain separate.

Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The 2026 Asian Games, officially known as Aichi-Nagoya, opened on September 19 in Nagoya, Japan. With over 11,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions, it is the second-largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics and larger than the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics which had approximately 10,700 participants. The games feature 43 sports including Asian specialties like kurash, kabaddi, and sepaktakraw.

However, the buildup to the games was marred by several issues such as accommodation shortages with up to 5,000 athletes housed on a cruise ship and transport problems leading to complaints from officials. The opening ceremony aimed to provide some respite after these mishaps, though political tensions were evident when Taiwan's sports minister Lee Yang faced temporary exclusion from an event before being allowed back in due to a misunderstanding.

The games include debut events like e-sports and will conclude on October 4, with athletes competing for continental glory across various disciplines. Notable competitors include tennis sensation Alex Eala of the Philippines who is favored to win gold and secure automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. Despite initial hiccups, organizers hope the ceremony marks a turning point towards a successful event.

Written for “Asian Games 2026 Issues Growth” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

The Asian Games are open with more athletes than the Summer Olympics and some unfamiliar sports Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 3 of 36 claims Outlet record 64/100

By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 36 claims Outlet record 64/100

Asian Games 2026: Dates, venues, sports and a growing accommodation crisis Different event

Al Jazeera

Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100

“Article A discusses the general context and challenges of the Asian Games, while Article B focuses on a specific political issue involving Taiwan during the opening ceremonies.”

The Asian Games are bigger than the Summer Olympics, at least in athlete numbers Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 4 of 49 claims Outlet record 64/100

“While both articles are about the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, they describe different aspects of the event: Article A focuses on the scale and logistics of the games compared to the Olympics, while Article B addresses a political issue related to the welcoming ceremony involving Taiwan.”

Anthems, transport, housing: What’s gone wrong at the Asian Games in Japan? Different event

Al Jazeera

Hedges 0 of 23 claims Outlet record 60/100

“Article A discusses the political involvement in the Asian Games before its opening ceremony, while Article B focuses on the mishaps leading up to and including the opening ceremony itself.”

Asian Games 2026: Top athletes and storylines to look out for Different event

Al Jazeera

Hedges 3 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100

“Article A discusses the political involvement in the Asian Games, while Article B highlights athletes and storylines for the upcoming games without mentioning any specific incident.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

11%

2 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11028 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)

2026-10-31

Inmate's escape is just the latest problem for Tennessee's troubled prison system

2026-10-26

Correction

2026-10-24

Correction

2026-10-22

News Clarification for Oct. 22

2026-10-21

No. 6 Hoosiers try to for rare rebound at Michigan after turning the page on 22-game winning streak

2026-10-19

Driver’s License Suspensions for Court Debt Draw Scrutiny

2026-10-16

Amputations and cancer treatment delays: Lawmakers hear testimony on Mississippi prison healthcare

2026-10-16

UPDATE: Golconda Gold Releases Q3 2026 Production Update at Galaxy

2026-10-08

News Clarification for Oct. 8

2026-10-07

Correction

2026-10-05

Entertainment Correction for Oct. 5

2026-10-03

Tennessee's prisons chief is resigning after failed execution of Christa Pike

2026-09-28

Organizations call for Action to End the Deaths of Indigenous People in Custody

2026-09-27

Police memorial recognizes six officers killed in the line of duty in 2026

2026-09-27

UPDATE: WSP to host Power & Energy-focused investor event virtually only

2026-09-26

News Clarification for Sept. 27

2026-09-26

Former federal public servant seeks better pensions for injured workers

2026-09-25

News Corrections for Sept. 25

2026-09-25

She has not been charged. But the Project South allegations have branded her with a 'scarlet letter'

2026-09-24

Correction

2026-09-23

MULTIMEDIA UPDATE: Smith+Nephew launches the new EVOS™ PELVIC Plating System at the 2026 Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, expanding the EVOS Plating Platform for pelvic and acetabular fracture management

2026-09-22

Costa Rican man complained of lack of care for diabetes before his death in ICE custody, family says

2026-09-22

Judges' grilling of accused men leads to sex assault and dangerous driving cases being overturned

2026-09-20

Jura Energy Corporation Provides Clarification Regarding Media Reports Concerning Its Petroleum Rights in Pakistan

2026-09-19

New details emerge about Toronto's guns-for-hire and the 'crash-out mission" that sparked the Project South investigation

2026-09-17

UPDATE: Osisko Critical Minerals Corporation Announces C$100 Million Private Placement of Special Warrants

2026-09-17

Alabama set to execute man for pawn shop killings months after his nitrogen gas execution blocked

2026-09-04

Orca Corrects Q3 Quarterly Dividend Announcement

Who wrote this

Stephen Wade

11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Even if all the members do not follow the direction of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, those votes could be a key to guaranteeing another mandate for Infantino, who leads the governing body of world soccer and is seeking a fourth term.

2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Gianni Infantino is endorsed by the Asian Football Confederation for another term as FIFA president

🔮 TOKYO (AP) — Gianni Infantino’s campaign for re-election as FIFA president is set to move this week to Japan and a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the Asian Football Confederation.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Infantino set to take his FIFA re-election campaign to Japan to court Asian soccer federations

🔮 “Of course the result is important, and the fact that the players will be exempt from the military service is important,” said Lee Sang-hyeok, who is known as “Faker” in the world of esports.

2026-10-03 · assertive framing · South Korean golfer Tom Kim receives a military exemption with a gold medal at the Asian Games

🔮 “We’re going to take — if something like this will happen, we have our way of taking care of it.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games

🔮 Maybe more with a few new sports added.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · The Asian Games are open with more athletes than the Summer Olympics and some unfamiliar sports

🔮 A lone Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, will function as a floating athletes villages with accommodation for up to 5,000 athletes and officials.

2026-09-18 · assertive framing · By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan

🔮 The Asian Games will open Saturday in Nagoya, Japan, with more than 11,000 athletes signed up.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · The Asian Games are bigger than the Summer Olympics, at least in athlete numbers

Also by Stephen Wade

Gianni Infantino is endorsed by the Asian Football Confederation for another term as FIFA president

2026-10-23 · Toronto Star

Infantino set to take his FIFA re-election campaign to Japan to court Asian soccer federations

2026-10-20 · Toronto Star

South Korean golfer Tom Kim receives a military exemption with a gold medal at the Asian Games

2026-10-03 · Toronto Star

11-year-old Japanese player Yuki Kurihara wins esports gold medal at the Asian Games

2026-09-26 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 11 articles by Stephen Wade →

Topics

Chinese OCA Taiwan Taiwanese the Asian Games

Subjects

Taiwan GPE · 7× Lee PERSON · 4× OCA ORG · 3× Chinese NORP · 2× Joaan PERSON · 2× Taiwanese NORP · 2× Japan GPE · 1× Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani PERSON · 1× NAGOYA GPE · 1× the Olympic Council of Asia ORG · 1×

Narrative

Lee later told Taiwanese reporters that “we are doing our best to safeguard our rights and do not want to be subjected to any form of suppression.” “We also hope more Taiwanese athletes can perform at their best and give their all at the games so that Taiwan can be more visible on the international stage.” ___

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19

🔮 “We’re going to take — if something like this will happen, we have our way of taking care of it.

2026-09-19 · Toronto Star

Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 2 hedged)

The president of the Olympic Council of Asia acknowledged Saturday that politics — in the form of a welcoming ceremony involving Taiwan — had already entered into the Asian Games. asserted

politics → acknowledge → Games

He did not sound pleased about it, speaking just hours before the official opening ceremony on Saturday. asserted

He → sound → Saturday

Some events at the Asian Games began several days ago to accommodate a packed schedule and more than 17,000 athletes and officials. asserted

events → begin → schedule

Up to 5,000 are housed on a cruise ship. asserted

5,000 → house → ship

“I don’t think, you know, the politicians or politics should be involved in sports,” said Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, speaking with media at the Asian Games. asserted

Thani → think → Games

Sheikh Joaan was asked about an incident Friday at the Asian Games in which Taiwan’s sports minister, Lee Yang, was temporarily barred from a welcoming ceremony and a flag-raising. asserted

minister → ask → ceremony

Lee was later allowed to participate and the OCA attributed the incident to a misunderstanding. asserted

OCA → allow → misunderstanding

“We don’t mix sports with politics and we already have,” Sheikh Joaan said. asserted

Joaan → mix → politics

“We’re going to take — if something like this will happen, we have our way of taking care of it. asserted

we → go → it

And all the delegations know what the protocol is and what should be done, and what shouldn’t be done.” asserted

what → know → ?

He won gold twice in doubles — 2020 and 2024 — each time defeating a Chinese pair in the final. asserted

He → win → final

Taiwan competes in the Asian Games and the Olympics under the name of Chinese Taipei and without its flag due to China’s claim on the island off its east coast. uncertain

Taiwan → compete → coast

Taiwan media reported the OCA had issued an order barring Lee. asserted

OCA → report → Lee

Taiwan media reported that Taiwan officials asked to see the order but officials were unable to produce it. asserted

officials → report → it

“We chose to stick to our principles,” Chen Shih-kwei, a vice president of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, said. asserted

kwei → choose → Committee

“We asked the local organizing committee and the OCA to uphold the Olympic spirit, so that we could attend all events equally and with dignity,” Chen added. uncertain

Chen → ask → dignity

“We insisted on this, and then negotiations began. asserted

negotiations → insist → this

We stood firm on our dignity and principles.” asserted

We → stand → dignity

Taiwan → tell → stage