Grit in the Gloom: Wet Tracks Leave Athletes Vulnerable in Nagoya

A haze hung over the Paloma Mizuho Athletics Park; the relentless rain made conditions harsh and treacherous. As I write this article, the weather forecast for Nagoya at 9:55 p.m. on September 29 reports 100 per cent precipitation and 93 per cent humidity. The chance of rain has remained between 80 and 90 per cent since early afternoon, accompanied by a constant drizzle. At the stadium, these conditions have endured for the better part of the last three days. The tracks are wet, with little streams running off them and small puddles forming around the edges. From my seat in the Media Tribune, I have not seen any water-soaking equipment used over the past few days. However, the TV screen on my desk yesterday showed a medium-sized, yellow-sponged manual soaker on the opposite side of the field, where the javelin event was underway. A colleague reported seeing one on the Media Tribune side two days ago, but there were none yesterday. “I saw TJ speaking to the volunteers and others on the field, requesting them to use those to dry the tracks that day,” my colleague noted. The question remains: could there have been more of these distributed around the track?

For the last few mornings, we have woken up to overcast skies and a heavy gloom over Nagoya. The afternoons have brought on brain fog, and the stadium feels chilly. The athletes have it worse, as they must warm up and compete in this weather. The falling rain glistens against the athletes’ bodies on the stadium’s big screens. There have been several instances of athletes slipping and injuring themselves on the wet tracks. This began on the first day of the rain. Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya had an accident during the first heat of the men’s 110m hurdles and had to be carried out in a wheelchair. We have seen javelin throwers tottering from the impact of their throws on the wet ground. Yesterday, Murali Sreeshankar injured his ankle during the long jump and was unable to complete his final two attempts. Tajinderpal Singh Toor indicated that his performance might have been affected by the conditions as well, while Ancy Sojan reported experiencing body cramps and having to rely on foam rolling for relief. sweetbonan.org

The stadium personnel and television crews on the field are constantly soaked, even in their plastic raincoats. The athletes do not even have that protection. While it is not confirmed if any competitors have fallen sick from the incessant rain, it is highly likely. The most unenviable position belongs to the many volunteers stationed outside the stadium and along the route to the train station. They stand in the same spot for hours on end, far away from the action, enduring the pouring rain in the dark to hold fluorescent batons and guide the crowds.

Overall, the rain has felt like a curse at the stadium here. And yet, aside from the unfortunate injuries, the athletes have been truly remarkable. They have brought good cheer, celebrating, embracing one another, and maintaining a sense of fun despite the gloom.

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Potchefstroom [South Africa], September 29 (ANI): Australia suffered a double injury blow ahead of the third and final ODI against South Africa, with fast bowler Nathan Ellis ruled out with a side strain and left-arm spinner Joel Davies set to return home after sustaining a hamstring injury.

Ellis, who has been Australia’s standout bowler on the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, suffered the left side strain after bowling four overs during the second ODI in Johannesburg. He did not return to complete his spell as South Africa went on to post 365 and seal the three-match series 2-0, according to Cricinfo.

The pacer will return to Australia for further assessment and rehabilitation, with the hope of recovering in time for the home ODI series against England, beginning on November 13.

Ellis is the second Australian fast bowler to suffer a side strain on the tour after Billy Stanlake was sidelined during the second ODI in Zimbabwe.

Australia will have only four fit specialist fast bowlers available for the final ODI in Potchefstroom on Wednesday. Pat Cummins is expected to return after missing the opening two matches, while Mitchell Starc is also likely to feature after being rested for the second ODI.

Josh Hazlewood could be rested after playing both matches, with Xavier Bartlett expected to retain his place.

Davies, meanwhile, picked up a hamstring strain while fielding as a substitute during the second ODI in Johannesburg. The spinner did not feature in any match on the tour after travelling as Australia’s second specialist spinner and will now return home for rehabilitation before resuming domestic cricket with New South Wales.

Australia have not named replacements for either Ellis or Davies for the final ODI.

There is also no decision yet on whether Josh Inglis will return for the Test series against South Africa, beginning October 9, after the wicketkeeper-batter broke his finger during the opening ODI in Durban.

Meanwhile, changes have also been made to the Australia A squad currently touring India. Brendan Doggett, Fergus O’Neill and Campbell Kellaway will return home to join their states for the start of the Sheffield Shield season.

Sam Harper, Jhye Richardson and Liam Hatcher are set to feature in the second unofficial Test against India A in Puducherry, beginning Tuesday.

Riley Meredith and Will Sutherland have also been added to the Australia A one-day squad for three matches beginning next Tuesday. They replace Jack Edwards and Aaron Hardie, with Edwards currently in South Africa as cover for Cameron Green after playing the first two ODIs.

Hardie has been ruled out of the one-day series with a minor knee injury. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Asian Games 2026: India’s wait for their fifth gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 ended on Tuesday with shooter Neeru winning the women’s trap shooting individual title with a new Asian record score at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Ranges. After winning a silver medal in the team event earlier on Tuesday, the shooter from Jind in Haryana shot 28 points out of possible 30 in the final to triumph over China’s Sun Yunong, who ended up with 26 points and the silver medal.

The 26-year-old Indian shooter, who had never won an Asian Games medal before Tuesday, brought India’s second gold medal from the shooting ranges. Last week, the mixed team air rifle pair of Suruchi Inder Singh and Kamaljeet had won India’s first shooting gold medal at Asian Games 2026.

Neeru, who came into the individual final with the lead, was absolutely precise with her shooting under pelting rain on Tuesday and just dropped a couple of points in the final. Kuwait’s Abdulmalik Hajar had to settle for bronze medal, after dropping her final shot while tied with Yunong in the third-place cut-off.

(More to come)

આઈચી-નાગોયા એશિયન ગેમ્સના 11મા દિવસે ભારતે શાનદાર શરૂઆત કરી છે. મહિલા ટ્રેપ ટીમ ઈવેન્ટમાં નીરુ ધાંડા, મનીષા કીર અને આશિમા અહલાવતની ટીમે સિલ્વર મેડલ જીત્યો. બીજી તરફ રેકર્વ તીરંદાજ નીરજ ચૌહાણે ઓલિમ્પિક અને વર્લ્ડ ચેમ્પિયનશિપમાં અનેક મેડલ જીતી ચૂકેલા રિપબ્લિક ઓફ કોરિયાના કિમ જે ડેઓકને હરાવીને ભારતની ગોલ્ડ મેડલની આશા વધારી છે. મહિલા સ્ક્વોશ ટીમે પણ ગ્રુપ સ્ટેજમાં ઈરાનને 3-0થી હરાવ્યું.

એથ્લેટિક્સ કાર્યક્રમનો આજે અંતિમ દિવસ છે અને કુલ 9 ફાઈનલમાં ભારતીય ખેલાડીઓ અથવા ટીમો ભાગ લેશે. પોલ વોલ્ટમાં દેવ કુમાર મીણા અને કુલદીપ કુમાર, મહિલા હાઈ જમ્પમાં પૂજા અને સુપ્રિયા બાસવરાજુ મેદાનમાં ઉતરશે. બે મેડલ જીતી ચૂકેલા ગુલવીર સિંહ અને અવિનાશ સાબલે પુરુષોની 5000 મીટરની ફાઈનલમાં ભાગ લેશે. હેમર થ્રોમાં અનુષ્કા યાદવ અને તાન્યા ચૌધરી પણ મેડલ માટે ઉતરશે. આ ઉપરાંત પુરુષો અને મહિલાઓની 800 મીટર, 4x400 અને 4x100 મિક્સ્ડ રિલેની ફાઈનલ પણ યોજાશે.