Qatar's build-up to the US$3-billion Asian Games was overshadowed on Thursday when their million dollar man Saif Saaeed Shaheen pulled out.

Just 24 hours before the 15th Games was due to officially open, the 23-year-old Kenyan-born 3,000m steeplechase world record holder withdrew because of an Achilles tendon injury.

"He just can't run," said his manager Ricky Simms.

"He's limping when he's running. He actually didn't race much this year, he made a real point of being fresh for the Asian Games."

Shaheen, who was rewarded with a US$1-million bonus for winning the 2003 world title in Paris, was set to be one of the major drawcards of the athletics programme and his non-appearance will be a shattering blow to organizers.

More than 13,000 athletes from 45 nations and regions will be taking part in the Games and organizers insist that the tournament will pass off peacefully.

"It will be a secure Games and a Games that everyone will enjoy," said spokesman Ahmed Abdulla Al-Khulaifi at a briefing. "This is a safe country."

However, there has been a growing list of problems with early action played out in almost empty stadia.

The group stages of the football tournament have yet to capture the imagination of the public with Bahrain's match against Viet Nam was watched by just 75 spectators.

The athletes village, which will be converted into a hospital after the tournament, has also had to contend with a chicken pox scare.

Also missing out on volleyball action was the Palestinian territories'team who failed to make it out of the Gaza strip. The same fate befell their table tennis squad who were forced to skip their opening team event clash on Wednesday.

Macao's men's table tennis team made it to the Games but probably wished they hadn't when they were kicked out for using illegal glue on their bats.

China's world champion Lin Dan got the badminton team event off to a flying start with a 21-19, 21-11 win over Anup Sridhar of India, but his build-up was far from perfect.

"I heard our driver went to get coffee, so I lost 20 minutes of preparation time," said Lin.

(China Daily December 2, 2006)