Nagoya : The flag-hoisting ceremony at the Asian Games, involving India and five other contingents, was delayed for more than an hour before eventually taking place on Friday with “trouble” related to “miscommunication” between the Olympic Council of Asia and the local organising committee (ANAGOC) cited as the reason for the disruption.

The ceremony, which was scheduled to commence at 1:30pm Japan time at Garden Pier, close to the container-style lodging for the athletes, initially began with a 20-minute delay. The ceremonial band took the stage, while performers dressed like Ninja warriors also waited to showcase their skills.

India’s chef-de-mission Sahdev Yadav and four deputy chef-de-missions — A Sharath Kamal, Lijo David Thottan, Alaknanda Ashok and Anjali Bhagwat — were present at the venue.

But before the six contingents — Yemen, North Korea, Palestine, India, Chinese-Taipei and Timor-Leste — could step onto the stage, they were asked to stay put. After waiting for more than 15 minutes, the contingents were eventually asked to return to the resting area.

“We are sorry for the delay. There is some trouble with a team. We will try to restore (the ceremony) in another 15 minutes,” a senior ANAGOC official briefed the media through an interpreter, saying that it was the official statement.

The “trouble”, however, remained unexplained for some time, while the disruption stretched beyond an hour. With international media repeatedly questioning whether a political issue was behind the delay, the organisers later offered a different explanation, saying it was a case of miscommunication.

“The communication between the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Executive Board and Organising Committee was not well, that’s why this happened,” stated another ANAGOC official after the ceremony.

The official stuck to that explanation despite persistent questioning over whether any political issue had caused the disruption.

“It’s not like that somebody (team) delayed the ceremony. The trouble mentioned in the earlier statement was that there was a miscommunication between the OCA and the ANAGOC,” the official said, while asserting that the delay nothing to do with Taiwan (Chinese-Taipei).

“It’s just lack of communication between OCA and ANAGOC.” The explanation came after another ANAGOC official had said the “delay had been due to the chief guest’s arrival getting delayed.” As the contingents waited, they were told to remain in the resting area until the organisers were ready to proceed.

When the much-delayed ceremony finally resumed and the flags were hoisted, only deputy chef-de-missions Anjali Bhagwat, a former rifle ace, and Lijo David Thottan, a former 4x400m relay athlete, went on stage as representatives of the Indian contingent.

India’s Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha also came in briefly, as the IOA office for the Games is located nearby. They too eventually left.

“I have not seen such a scene before,” Sahdev Yadav told PTI.

Flag-hoisting ceremonies are the official welcome events for travelling contingents at multi-sport events and are generally held a day before the official Games opening.

Friday’s disruption adds to the organisational challenges surrounding the mega-event, where athletes have also complained about delayed and cramped lodging facilities.

The organisers have made accommodation arrangements at container-style huts, a docked cruise ship and hotels instead of building a traditional Games village to cut costs.