ASIAD 17: Controversy over the wave of naturalized athletes

Athletes competing at the 17th Asian Games, especially in athletics, have expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that wealthy Gulf countries are selecting naturalized athletes from Africa with the aim of winning as many medals as possible.

Athlete Femi Ogunode sets new Asian record. (Source: zeenews.india.com)

“I think it's unfair,” men's 100m silver medalist Su Bingtian told AFP. “They are taller, stronger and have a longer stride than us.”

Su Bingtian emphasized that African athletes have superior strength and physical advantages over Asian athletes.

Earlier, on the 28th of September, Su Bingtian lost to Femi Ogunode, a Qatari athlete born in Nigeria. Ogunode finished with a time of 9.93 seconds, setting a new Asian record.

In addition to Su Bingtian, Japanese and South Korean athletes have also voiced their dissatisfaction with this issue. Meanwhile, the Olympic Committee of Asia has not yet spoken out.

During the first two days of competition at the 17th ASIAD, athletes of African origin won 6 Gold Medals in 7 events, completely overwhelming athletes of Asian origin.

Previously, at the 2006 Doha Games, naturalized athletes, mostly from Bahrain and Qatar, also dominated the races with Gold Medals in all events of 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

In 2010 in Guangzhou, a similar scenario occurred when African athletes from Bahrain and Qatar won all six Gold Medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m events.

According to Vietnam+