{
  "id": 8412915,
  "title": "Politicians need to stay out of sport at Asiad: Asian Olympic boss",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/politicians-need-to-stay-out-of-sport-at-asiad-asian-olympic-boss",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-19T08:03:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Jakarta Post",
    "slug": "the-jakarta-post",
    "url": "https://www.thejakartapost.com/sports/2026/09/19/politicians-need-to-stay-out-of-sport-at-asiad-asian-olympic-boss.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), has stated that politicians should not be involved in sports during the Asian Games. This comes following an incident involving Taiwan's sport minister, Lee Yang, who was initially barred from attending a flag-raising ceremony at the Games in Nagoya, Japan. Lee Yang, a former Olympic badminton champion, was not allowed to take part in the ceremony but was eventually permitted entry later. The Taiwan delegation refused to participate in protest, leading to a standoff. Taiwan's cabinet later complained that Lee had faced \"unreasonable obstruction\" in obtaining access credentials. OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam emphasized that the flag-raising ceremony was intended for the athletes, not the government or delegation representatives.",
  "summary": "Taiwan sport minister Lee Yang, a former Olympic badminton champion, was initially blocked from attending a flag-raising ceremony at the Games on Friday, triggering a standoff as the Taiwan delegation refused to participate in protest.",
  "key_points": [
    "Politicians should not involve in sports during Asian Games, says OCA President.",
    "Taiwan sport minister Lee Yang barred from flag-raising ceremony.",
    "Taiwan delegation protested, cabinet complained about unreasonable obstruction."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "(Asiad) Lee hopes his Asian Games medal helps teqball make presence felt in S. Korea",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/asiad-lee-hopes-his-asian-games-medal-helps-teqball-make-presence",
        "published": "2026-09-19T04:47:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KBS World Radio",
        "title": "S. Korea's Lee Jun-suk Advances to Asian Games Men's Teqball Singles Final",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/s-koreas-lee-jun-suk-advances-to-asian-games-mens-teqball-singles",
        "published": "2026-09-19T05:40:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}