INCHEON -- Brief stories from the Asian Games on Tuesday:
Royal treatment
Filipino golfer Princess Superal caused panic among Asian Games organizers when she was mistaken for a real royal, the Philippine Star reported.
Philippines chef de mission Ricardo Garcia received an unexpected courtesy call from an Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC) official who apologized for what he thought was a diplomatic lapse.
"The IAGOC felt they made an error in not being able to recognize a princess from the Philippines," Garcia was quoted as saying. "An official was so apologetic for what they thought was a lapse. I assured them that there was no oversight on their part. That our golfer, in fact one of our hopes for the gold medal here, is named Princess but that she is not a princess of any part of the Philippines but a princess of our team just the same."
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Medal to muddle for Al-Garni
Mohamad Al-Garni's joy at winning 5,000 meters gold quickly turned to frustration after a late-night dope test caused him to miss the last bus home. According to team officials, the Qatari did not get back to the athletes' village until about 3 a.m., giving him little time to rest before his 1,500m heats on Monday morning. However, the Moroccan-born Al-Garni sailed through the heats and duly won the 1,500m final that evening.
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Drummed out of the arena
Indonesian badminton fans accused the South Korean hosts of being sore losers after they had their trademark drum confiscated by Asian Games security. The fans drummed and sang as Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan beat South Korea's world number ones Lee Yong-Dae and Yoo Yeon-Seong in the men's doubles final on Sunday, but one day later the drum was persona non grata.
"They were fine to let us in with our drum yesterday, but today the security at the same gate told us that we couldn't bring it in. They made us hand it over and we'll have to collect it later," said Akiko Rivel Lumintan, an Indonesian factory worker who lives in Korea. "Maybe they're disappointed because we won the gold medal yesterday."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
