WRAPUP 1-Games-Filipino tennis star Eala wins indoors as rain washes out cricket and sparks venue chaos

Filipino tennis star Alex Eala kicked off her ‌Asian ​Games gold bid in style, but out of sight of her growing fanbase as bad weather wreaked havoc with Monday's programme in the continental showpiece event. There was a palpable buzz at the sold-out opener on the 3,500-capacity outdoor centre court ‌at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center to watch Eala, the first Filipino to win a WTA title.

Rain forced the match to be played indoors, however, and only a few dozen spectators including media, team officials and green-shirted volunteers witnessed the 21-year-old thumping Thailand's Patcharin Cheapchandej 6-1 6-0 to breeze into the quarter-finals. World number 18 Eala, who next faces Taiwan number ‌one Joanna Garland, said she took to court with an open mind.

"I think 'ready for anything' was the mindset," she told reporters. "At the end of the day, the ‌measurements of the court are the same. It's not the first time I've played in conditions like this, and they're good conditions." Her legions of fans were not the only ones affected by the weather.

Organisers wrestled with multiple scheduling headaches as persistent rain disrupted several competitions across the sprawling multi-sport event. Both men's cricket quarter-finals — Pakistan v Hong Kong and India v Afghanistan — were washed out after the field at Korogi ⁠Athletic Park ​on the outskirts of Nagoya was left waterlogged.

With ⁠no contingency plan in the schedule, Pakistan and India advanced to the T20 semi-finals by virtue of their higher rankings. DEJA VU FOR AFGHANISTAN

It was a painful repeat for Afghanistan, who saw the gold medal ⁠go to India due to the same rule three years ago when their Hangzhou Games final was abandoned due to rain. "We would have been happy to play here with India – our players ​are in form," Afghanistan opener Mohammad Akram said. "But unfortunately the rain has ruined everything."

Typhoon Surigae lashed Japan's southern Okinawa Prefecture on Monday and was projected ⁠to track northeast towards central Japan and the Tokyo region by midweek, raising the prospect of strong winds and heavy rain further disrupting the Games. Complaints of logistical mismanagement also mounted, with Pakistan volleyball captain Murad Jehan ⁠saying ​his team were taken to the wrong venue ahead of their Pool A match against Uzbekistan.

"We have a very important match and the bus driver doesn't know which gymnasium we are going to play," a glum-looking Jehan said in an Instagram video. Pakistan brushed off the disruption once they reached the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, ⁠cruising to a second straight win with a 3-0 victory over Uzbekistan.

Pakistan were, however, let down by Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem. Nadeem, who won Pakistan's first individual Olympic ⁠gold in Paris two years ago, fouled ⁠four of his six attempts before producing a season's best of 80.29 metres to finish just outside the medals.

Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage claimed his nation's first gold of the Aichi-Nagoya Games with a throw of 88.55 metres, ahead of India's Yashvir Singh ‌and Rohit Yadav. China dominated the ‌table tennis as usual, taking women’s doubles and men’s singles gold.

(Additional reporting by Ian ​Ransom in Nagoya; editing by Ed Osmond)