{
  "id": 8392447,
  "title": "Asian Olympic boss tells politicians to stay out of sports after Lee Yang incident",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/asian-olympic-boss-tells-politicians-to-stay-out-of-sports-after-lee",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-19T05:51:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2026/09/1536030/asian-olympic-boss-tells-politicians-stay-out-sports-after-lee-yang"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Saturday, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), stated that politicians should refrain from involvement in sports following a diplomatic incident at the Asian Games in Nagoya. The incident arose when Taiwan sport minister, Lee Yang, was initially barred from a flag-raising ceremony in protest. Lee Yang, a former Olympic badminton champion, was eventually allowed to attend the ceremony, which began over an hour later than scheduled.\n\nTaiwan's cabinet expressed dissatisfaction, stating that Lee Yang had faced \"unreasonable obstruction\" and had obtained the necessary access credentials. In response, OCA President Sheikh Joaan emphasized during a press conference that athletes' rights should be the primary focus during the quadrennial Games, asserting that politics and politicians have no place in sports. OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam added that the flag-raising ceremony was intended for athletes, not government delegations.\n\nThe lead-up to the Aichi-Nagoya Games has been marred by organizational issues, such as transport and accommodation problems for athletes. Despite these challenges, Sheikh Joaan defended the organizers, stating that they were addressing issues as they arose. He expressed optimism that the situation was improving. The Games, featuring a record 43 sports and 469 medal events, included debut events like virtual taekwondo, breaking (breakdancing), and esports.\n\nOCA's Husain Al-Musallam expressed pride in the Games' size and affordability, highlighting that the Asian Games were larger than any other games with lower costs.",
  "summary": "NAGOYA: Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani said on Saturday that politicians should not be involved in sports, following a diplomatic incident involving a Taiwan government official at the Asian Games.",
  "key_points": [
    "Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, OCA President, urges politicians to stay out of sports.",
    "Taiwan sport minister Lee Yang barred from flag-raising ceremony, later allowed in.",
    "OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam defends organizers amid games' organizational issues."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Olympic Council of Asia's call for politicians to stay out of sports signals a stricter separation of politics and athletics, potentially limiting government influence on events like the Asian Games.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun",
        "title": "Games-Asian Olympic Boss Says Politicians Need to Stay out of Sport at Nagoya Games",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/games-asian-olympic-boss-says-politicians-need-to-stay-out-of-sport",
        "published": "2026-09-19T06:53:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}