TV only thing missing in Asiad Athletes Village

Workers clean a street leading to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games, in Jakarta on August 18, 2018. AFP PHOTO / Aamir QURESHI

JAKARTA — The Athletes Village, which is close to one hour away from the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, will be home to close to 11,000 athletes for the duration of the Asian Games, and just like how the organizers have handled the media, they seem to have done a good job at it.

Unless, of course, if you’re an oversized basketball player.

“It’s good, comfortable,” Gilas Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao told the Inquirer. “For me, I’m a normal sized guy. But for our other players, and most especially the other countries like China and Iran, their players will find it hard to fit in the beds.”

Other than that, some of the Filipino athletes the Inquirer was able to talk to are fine with it.

“The food is good,” Gabe Norwood said. “I can eat anything and I haven’t heard any of my teammates complain.”

One thing that’s missing, though, as Guiao pointed out: “There’s no TV. So there’s really nothing to do here.”