Bhubaneswar, June 24: The countdown has begun. The city is set to witness the heat of one of the biggest sporting events—the 22nd Asian Athletics Championship. Moreover, the city will be the temporary address for over 700 athletes from 45 countries—now, that’s huge. But, where will these athletes put up? Where will they check-in? Well, Orissa POST brings you the answer—the swanky hotels in the city will accommodate the sportsmen and athletes. While the five stars have been kept reserved for the delegates, athletes are likely to stay in the four or three star hotels.
Around 17 hotels have been booked for the same. Some of these hotels for athletes are—Swasti Premium, Sandy Tower, Ginger, HHI, Suryayanash, Pal Heights VITS, Crown, and Hotel Excellency. The temple city’s most luxurious hotels—Mayfair and Trident— have been booked for the accommodations of sports authorities, presidents, council congress and other top officials.
“Indian team that has the largest contingent will be staying in Swasti Premium. The hotel will be shared with another team from Iran. Similarly, the Chinese team—the second largest team—will stay in Pal Heights, where a few smaller teams will also put up,” an official from Asian Athletics Championship organizing team informed Orissa POST.
According to sources, special diet charts of the athletes have been sent to all the hotels. They have been instructed to follow the diet guidelines. “The menu has been decided by Asian Athletics Association. It has been provided to all the hotels. The hotels have been advised to prepare the same meals. A food inspector will be check the meals served to the athletes on daily basis,” sources revealed.
When asked about whether there will be any local cuisine in the list, the official said, “Since the athletes have to follow the prescribed diet, there will be some local cuisines included in the list to give the menu a local touch. They can relish local food items too,” he added.
When asked about the security arrangements at the hotels, he said, “Local police will look after the security of the athletes. There will be tight security arrangements in all the hotels. There will be one volunteer and one official from the government of Orissa, who will be deployed with each team to accompany them wherever they go.”
“We have been working with the hotels for the last one month and training them. We are satisfied with all the hotel arrangements,” he added.
Two teams from Japan and Kuwait will stay in hotel HHI. The chefs at HHI have planned a special menu for the teams. “Though, we have been provided with the menu list, we have also prepared a list of some mixed items. There will be Indian food items on offer. However, the maximum items will be of western origin, especially from Mediterranean cuisine. We have also included Japanese food,” said executive chef of HHI, Aftab Rahaman.
