The state of affairs at Brazil’s Olympics Games Village has received a lot of bad press since teams began to touch down in the South American nation for the Olympic Games. Some teams have complained of thefts, others of the shoddy infrastructure and lack of facilities. The Indian national men’s and women’s hockey teams too are struggling for basic facilities like tables, chairs and televisions at the Games Village.
Amid all the gloom and doom being projected, one team does not appear to be making too much of a fuss about it. The national basketball teams from the United States of America found conditions at the Games Village unsatisfactory and, without much ado, decided to hire an entire cruise liner for themselves.
Cool, isn’t it?
The high-profile NBA stars will now stay on a luxurious cruise ship named Silver Cloud during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Also Read: Rio 2016: No chairs, tables or TV sets, Indian hockey contingent struggles for basic facilities in Games Village
Docked in Rio de Janeiro’s renovated harbour, Silver Cloud has a total of 196 cabins that can accommodate up to 400 people. Some of them have already been allotted to the men’s and women’s basketball teams of the United States.
All the cabins of the lavish cruise liner have been booked for the US delegation. Moreover, it will be guarded by as many as 250 police personnel and will be surrounded by a bulletproof fence.
Ever since professionals were allowed to play in the Olympics in 1992, the high-profile NBA stars have been opting to stay in upscale hotels. They had even stayed on a cruise ship during the 2004 Games in Athens.
Meanwhile, the Olympic organisers at the Games Village have come under scanner as athletes have been complaining about poor facilities in the dormitory-style apartments that will house more than 10,000 athletes.
There was even a fire break out in one of the apartments, after which about 100 athletes from the Australian contingent had to be evacuated for about 30 minutes. During the evacuation, two laptops and few team shirts were also reportedly stolen from the rooms.
On the contrary, despite the repeated complaints by Indian hockey team coach Roelant Oltmans and Hockey India president Narinder Batra about the team struggling for basic amenities at the Games Village, no action has yet been taken to resolve the issue.
