The Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly announced after a convention on Thursday in Macau that the capital city of Hanoi was the winner against its sole rival, Surabaya of Indonesia, in the race to win the hosting bid.

The other opponent, Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, withdrew from the race, which the Vietnamese delegation said was because they failed to receive the go-ahead from their government.

The result was announced after a vote by 45 nations and territories under the OCA during the Macau meeting.

OCA chairman Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah declared Hanoi as the winner but refused to elaborate on how many votes the city received.

“Most of the votes were sent to Hanoi for it to host the Asiad,” he simply said.

“It’s a great pleasure that Hanoi wins the bid,” said Vuong Bich Thang, head of the Vietnamese General Department of Sport and Physical Training.

However, some sporting analysts and members of the public have produced quite different responses over the news.

Economic concern

Most of the negative responses are concerned over the enormous US$150 million expense Vietnam is expected to earmark for the event.

“The $150 million figure is only on the blueprint. Other hosts of the previous Asiad editions have had to spend billions of US dollars on organization,” a local netizen posted on his Facebook page, attracting a number of supporting comments.

Vietnam is expected to spend VND4.162 trillion (roughly $200 million) organizing the event, including an estimated expense of VND3.14 trillion, or $150 million.

The expenses are intended for the organizers’ activities, and the upgrading and building of sporting venues, according to the plan developed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The total revenues are expected to be VND1 trillion, including VND840 billion from sponsors, ads, and TV rights.

The hosting expense will burden the state budget amid these hard economic times, the protesters said.

Recently the Minister of Finance has demanded a delay to the plan to increase the basic wages for civil servants due to budget difficulties.

Other commentators are concerned about the sporting ability of local athletes when they compete at such a large event.

Asiad 2019 is expected to include 35 sports, including 27 out of 29 Olympics sports.

The host Team Vietnam is aiming to win ten gold medals at sports such as athletics, karate, judo, taekwondo, and shooting.

“What’s most important to the Vietnam sport industry now is the training of athletes to prepare for the Games,” said Ha Quang Du, former head of the General Department of Sport and Physical Training.

“We should start the recruitment and training programs right now in order to be able to send qualified athletes to the competition,” he added.

Source:Tuoitrenews