The 20th Asian Games were declared open by Japan’s emperor on Saturday, following a troubled build-up to the multi-sport spectacle that features more athletes than the Olympics.

There were a large number of empty seats at the 30,000-capacity stadium in Nagoya, where a subdued crowd saw a colourful opening ceremony on a heart-shaped stage.

Japan’s Emperor and Empress were given a respectful reception as they took their seats alongside International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry.

There was polite applause when Emperor Naruhito declared the Games open.

The first gold medal will be won on Sunday morning, likely in the men’s individual triathlon, as the continent’s finest athletes compete in more than 40 sports before the curtain comes down on Oct 4.

Organisational crisis

The event in the Nagoya and Aichi prefecture has 2028 Olympics places up for grabs in seven sports, and will be graced by global stars and fast-rising prodigies.

But it has been laden with a series of organisational hiccups in the lead-up to the opening, as more than 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials stretched the organisers to the limit as they tried to accommodate all.

To save on costs, there is no traditional athletes’ village; competitors are instead staying in a combination of temporary container-style huts, hotels and cruise ship The Costa Serena. Several teams have complained about the quality of the huts, including complaints about the beds being too short.

Some athletes were also left stranded at the airport when transport failed to turn up.

There was a record deluge last week which flooded parts of Nagoya, and a typhoon now approaching eastern Japan threatens further disruption in the coming days.

In the latest mishap, North Korea’s national anthem was played on Friday for South Korea’s men’s hockey team.

Asia’s premiere sporting event

The Olympic Council of Asia said the continent’s premier sporting event, featuring 45 countries and territories, had found the perfect host.

“When the world has needed it most, Japan has always answered,” OCA president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani said, referring to the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

He called those Games “a remarkable showcase of resilience, hospitality and commitment”.

Apart from Japan’s athletes, the biggest cheer was reserved for China’s competitors as they filed into the arena.

China will again expect to top the medals table after winning a whopping 201 golds and 383 medals overall on home soil in Hangzhou last time.

As always at the Asian Games – which started in 1951 – Olympic staples such as athletics and swimming will run side-by-side with regional favourites like sepak takraw and kabaddi.

There will be eSports, breakdancing and BMX cycling, while Padel and MMA will make their Asian Games debuts.

Among those competing will be Philippine tennis sensation Alexandra Eala, and a pair of prodigies in 15-year-old Indian cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi.

Two-time Asian Games silver medallist Zahra Kiani was a flag-bearer for Iran, and hopes to win another medal in the Chinese martial art of wushu – by watching how it’s done on YouTube.

“I have been training with movies. I watch videos of Chinese athletes and I try to copy them,” she said.

Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting will also be competing, two years after she won Paris Olympics gold in the middle of a major gender row that saw her eligibility questioned.

North Korea will have more than 100 athletes competing across 14 sports, aiming to “bring joy to Marshal Kim Jong Un”.

Sooryavanshi will be part of an India cricket team looking to make a statement before the sport returns to the Olympics in Los Angeles after an absence of 128 years.

India could face arch rivals Pakistan in the final at Nagoya’s new purpose-built cricket ground – if rain does not intervene.