By Tharani Sambu, Content Writer ,
India's first gold medal arrived on September 22 in women's T20 cricket.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final. India scored 216/3, with Smriti Mandhana scoring 79, Shafali Verma making 48 and Richa Ghosh remaining unbeaten on 49 from 22 balls. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 69.
Mandhana also became the first woman to reach 11,000 international runs.
After the victory, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed hope that the cricket team's gold would be followed by more gold medals for India.
India also secured a badminton medal after its men's team defeated Japan 3–0 in the quarterfinals.
As of September 22, India had one gold, four silver and two bronze medals, giving it seven medals in total.
Behind the sporting competitions, several professional firms are contributing to the infrastructure and operations needed for Aichi-Nagoya 2026. One such company is PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, a Japanese consulting and engineering firm that has worked on the development of the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium and the wider Mizuho Park project.
The stadium is the main venue for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies. Nagoya City needed to upgrade the facility to meet the requirements for the event, including the required seating capacity.
PACIFIC CONSULTANTS was awarded a contract in 2018 to prepare the basic reconstruction plan for the stadium and conduct a feasibility study for implementing the project through PFI (Private Finance Initiative). Its work subsequently expanded to the wider Mizuho Park master plan and related planning activities.
The project involved several constraints, including existing green areas, a nearby river and road, residential surroundings and restrictions related to buried cultural assets.
Sachio Nagura, Technical Manager, Project Management Office, Architecture Department, PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, said:
“Rebuilding it into the main venue for the Games under so many constraints was extremely difficult.”
The company's work illustrates a specific role consultants can play in a mega sporting event: providing specialist expertise for infrastructure planning, project management, PPP (Public-Private Partnership), PFI (Private Finance Initiative), transportation planning and long-term facility development.
Importantly, PACIFIC CONSULTANTS is an example of a firm supporting a major venue and associated development rather than managing the entire Asian Games.
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Read more...
