Mistakes that embarrass the Paralympics... gold for the winners and an anthem for Iran

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The page of organizational errors in the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan was not closed until it was opened again in the Asian Paralympic Games. Incorrect national anthems were played three times in one day, causing city officials to apologize again, despite their pledges to review procedures and prevent the failures from recurring.

Between a coronation ceremony during which the Iranian anthem was played for winners from Taiwan and Mongolia, and a match in which the Chinese team heard the South Korean anthem, questions were renewed regarding the revisions announced by the organizers following similar mistakes witnessed in the previous tournament.

In the face of repeated incidents, the mayor of Nagoya, Ichiro Hirosawa, issued an official apology yesterday, Wednesday, describing what happened as “completely unacceptable,” while the tournament’s competitions continue until Saturday, with the participation of about four thousand athletes and officials, and include 18 sports.

Officials of the organizing committee in Nagoya were quick to reveal the details of the facts during a press conference, explaining that the Iranian anthem was played in full last Monday, during the coronation of a Taiwanese athlete who won the men's taekwondo competition, and the error was not discovered until after the ceremony had ended.

However, during the same day, the scene was repeated during the crowning of a winner from Mongolia in the women's taekwondo competition, when the organizers played the Iranian anthem again.

But the Mongolian delegation noticed the error and intervened to stop the music, then presented the correct anthem to the organizers to be played during the ceremony.

While the confusion extended to sitting volleyball competitions. Before a match between China and Iran, the South Korean anthem was played instead of the Chinese one for about five seconds, completing three incidents in one day.

These errors gain additional weight because they came after officials announced that measures were being taken to ensure the authenticity of the chants used, based on the failures witnessed by the Asian Games.

In this context, Hirosawa said: “Things like this happened during the Asian Games, so the work procedures were reviewed and examined based on the lessons learned. It is absolutely unacceptable to have this happen again.”

He also added: "This is unacceptable, and in fact painful. I am very sorry about that," stressing at the same time that the tournament is going well other than these incidents.

It is noteworthy that the Asian Games, which concluded in early October, also faced widespread criticism due to organizational problems that included the accommodation of athletes and the playing of incorrect national anthems.

The most notable of these incidents was the playing of the North Korean anthem for the South Korean hockey team on September 18, an error that carried special sensitivity given the tense relations between the two countries.

After that precedent, it was expected that the problem would end with a review of the procedures, but the current session brought the same mistakes, and with them apologies, to the forefront again during the competition days.