By Umedjon Yunusaliev (OCA Young Reporter from Tajikistan)
Hangzhou, China, September 26, 2023: As a member of the five-strong team of OCA young reporters at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, I am discovering a lot about life as a sports journalist at a major multi-sport games.
We have attended several sports events and seen the media tribune high in the stands, the mixed zone where athletes chat with the media after their event and also the press conference room which hosts the official press conference with the medal-winners.
Through these exercises, I have learned the various ways media can approach their work and complete their articles.
Our latest activity came on Tuesday, September 26, when we combined three exercises into one eye-opening day.
We began our tour at the Main Media Centre and visited the International Broadcast Centre, the Main Press Centre, where the OCA office is located, and the Life Service Centre, where media can relax and take a break from their long hours of work.
The Main Press Centre was alive with the buzz of an Asian Games as media attended a press conference, checked information on the terminals or wrote their article at their desks.
From the Main Media Centre we continued our journey to the Asian Games Athletes’ Village, and enjoyed lunch in the dining hall, sitting beside athletes from all over Asia.
It was good fun trying to identify the flags on the uniforms of the athletes and we also tried exchanging OCA pin badges with souvenirs from other visitors, including the Vietnam athletics team who were just checking in to the village as we entered.
The village is more like a city and has an internal transport system and offices to serve the athletes and officials, as well as leisure and cultural activities.
After a short break back at the Marriott Hotel, we headed for the rugby sevens and saw four tough and exciting matches for the gold, silver and bronze medals in the women’s and men’s events.
The atmosphere was electric as the players gave their all and displayed remarkable levels of energy and stamina.
It was a great end to a great day as an OCA young reporter.