Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 7, 2025: Under the watchful gaze of the second British Governor of colonial Ceylon, Sir Thomas Maitland, OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam assured the Colombo press corps that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next September will be a sustainable event, quite different from previous editions.
Speaking at the Press Conference for the 20th Asian Games Fun Run Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at the historic Mount Lavinia Hotel – the former mansion of the Governor who ruled supreme from 1805 to 1811 and whose portrait was hanging in the Maitland Room – Director General Al Musallam briefed the local media about the September 19-October 4, 2026 showpiece.
“It will be different from past games. The main concept is that the organisers are using existing facilities to reduce expenditure. An example is that swimming will be held in Tokyo (at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre), so they are utilising facilities in other cities making the games sustainable,” Al Musallam pointed out.
“I urge all of you (media) to come and cover the games next year, not just only to write about sport, but also about the history of Nagoya and the beautiful Japanese culture,” the OCA Director General added.
Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee (AINAGOC) Director of PR and Media Section, Kanaizuka Fumihito, then gave an update on the preparation for the Asian Games, being hosted by Japan for the third time.
“Sport in Asia is rapidly improving and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be of a high standard. At the Sydney Olympics, Asian athletes won 47 gold medals which were 15 percent of the total. At last year’s Paris Olympics, this number had increased to 98 gold medals and 29 percent, proving the rising standards,” Fumihito revealed during his presentation.
The President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Suresh Subramaniam, meanwhile said the Fun Run to be held on Monday, September 8, on the golden beaches of Mount Lavinia, has attracted a huge crowd.
“We expect around 750 people to turn up, many of them school children and representatives from national sports federations,” Subramaniam said.
The Fun Run is one part of the Sri Lanka NOC’s full-hearted involvement with the ‘Asian Games for All’ promotional campaign run by the OCA and AINAGOC. An Asian Youth Reporter programme – where the best writer will join the OCA media team in Nagoya - as well as a children’s painting competition – the best drawings will be exhibited at Asian Games venues – were also conducted on Sunday.
In his vote of thanks, Sri Lanka NOC Secretary General Rifdy Fahmy called for media support to promote Sri Lankan sport. “We need your help and guidance. We can’t clap with one hand,” Fahmy said.
