Chinese sportswear major steals the show in Asiad (Incheon Diary)

A little-known Chinese sports attire brand is winning the battle against its South Korean counterparts in terms of visibility at the ongoing Asian Games.

The logo '361 Degrees' is visible virtually everywhere, from the uniforms of South Korean torch-bearers in the opening ceremony to the cap of China's swimmers. The reason for its high profile may be their successful aggressive strategy in marketing their product, having invested $15 million in the Asiad.

"We did ask several of our country's sporting goods brands for support, but no South Korean conglomerate was as aggressive as 361 Degrees," an Incheon Asian Games Organising Committee (IAGOC) official said to The Korea Times.

But one large Korean firm said it was eliminated from sponsorship contention, while another blamed the organisers for making its products comparatively inconspicuous.

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When fans are Thailand's pride

Thailand may have sent a 701-member strong delegate, including 517 athletes and 184 team officials to Incheon, but their real strength are 10 friends, who have travelled to South Korea at their own cost to support their country's athletes.

They travel throughout the day to cheer their compatriots in the 33 disciplines that Thailand are participating in, reported The Korean Herald. The 10 friends have shelled out a large amount of money for the trip, with flight tickets to South Korea being very expensive and prices for watching events ranging from 5,000 won (approximately $5) to 100,000 won ($10), but remain unflustered.

"We travel from the early morning until late at night, watching up to three games a day. With no shuttle buses provided, we have to take the metro and walk to each event's location. Sometimes the stadium is very far from the train station," one of the friends was quoted as saying.

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Koreas battle to win beauty rights

North Korea may have initially taken an upper hand from rivals South Korea on the beauty count with their 'Army of Beauties' back in 2002 Busan Games but now the hosts are fighting back with their 'Medal Ceremony Girls' at Incheon.

Localites still admire North Korea's troupe of sharply dressed, good-looking 'Army of Beauties' they brought to South Korea in 2002.

But organisers hope that the 204-member South Korean beauty squad carrying gold, silver and bronze prizes for the medal presentation ceremonies will grab the spotlight now. These ceremony girls are all first-year students at Inha Technical College in Incheon, training to become flight attendants.

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Transport woes at Incheon

Poor transportation facilities have been a bane for spectators in Incheon. No vehicles are allowed, except for some VIP vehicles and some authorised for the venues.

Taxis are banned from entering the official shooting range and visitors are required to park their vehicles at a nearby high school and advised to use shuttle buses to travel from the parking lot to the range.

Fans are being forced to wait for their ride as the shuttle buses operate every 20 minutes and exiting the stadium is more difficult as buses moved after there were more than 10 people on board, a situation that has affected athletes as well.