REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PALEMBANG -- The Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) has imposed the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) regulations that prohibit personal consumption of liquor at the Athletes' Villages in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra Province. Inasgoc's First Deputy for Sports, Harry Warga Negara said hat smoking and drinking-liquor bans have been stipulated in the OCA regulations.
"We seize bottles and cans of beer that the athletes and officials personally bring from outside before entering the Athletes' Villages," Harry said here on Monday.
The athletes participating in the 18th Asian Games come from different cultural backgrounds. Several of them have the habit of consuming alcohol in their home countries. Those who have lost or no longer participate in the games partly kill their time by drinking beer, he stated.
In dealing with this habit, the heads of contingents cannot fully control their athletes and officials. "We also prevent the officials from bringing cans of beer into the Athletes' Villages," Harry said.
Inasgoc also ensured that the athletes do not consume outside food to prevent unexpected eventualities. However, several of them admitted that they have been bored of having meals that the Inasgoc prepares for them.
"Then, they try tasting street food. We directly ban them from having the street food, because we do not want something unexpected to happen to them," he added.
Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games for the second time this year after Jakarta was selected as the venue for the Asian sporting event in 1962. This year, Jakarta and Palembang are co-hosting the games from Aug 18 to Sept 2. By virtue of its hosting the 2018 games, the country aims to secure a place among the top 10 largest sporting events.
At this world's second biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics, around 15 thousand athletes from 45 countries compete in 462 events across 40 sports, of which 32 are Olympic sports.
The Olympic sports are Aquatics, Athletics, Fencing, Weightlifting, Basketball, Handball, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Wrestling, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Canoeing and Kayaking, Sailing, Shooting, Modern Pentathlon, Archery, Sport Climbing, Rowing, Rugby, Gymnastics, Roller Skating, Football, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Boxing, Triathlon, and Volleyball.
The non-Olympic sports are Bowling; Bridge; Cricket; Kabaddi; Martial Arts, including Jujitsu, Kurash, Pencak Silat, Sambo, and Wushu; Mechanical Sports, such as Paragliding and Jet Skiing; Squash; and Sepak Takraw.
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