Jobs better than medals for
some Asiad athletes

Asian Games athletes are disappearing in increasing numbers in an apparent bid to find jobs illegally in South Korea, police and sports officials said on Wednesday.

A total of 16 athletes have gone into hiding since Asia's biggest sporting event opened in this southern port city 10 days earlier. They include 12 Nepalese, three Sri Lankans and one Mongolian, police said.

"They must have gone into hiding to find jobs illegally. Most of them are believed to have their friends or relatives who are already living in this country," a police official said.

"We have asked the delegations who are most prone to such incidents to keep watch on their athletes. We will launch an operation to track them down after the Asiad," he said.

An official of the Sri Lankan delegation confirmed three of their athletes are missing.

"It is because of economic reasons," the official, who wished to be unidentified, said, adding that the delegation reported to the police about the disappearance.

The three Sri Lankans include one gymnast and two kabaddi players.

Vinod Palikhe, head of the Nepalese delegation, was quoted as telling the Korea Times that the Nepalese athletes have been missing since last Thursday when they left the Athletes' Village and never returned.

"We are trying to locate them but so far they have not been able to be found," he said.

A South Korean government estimate puts the number of llegal workers in this country at 266,000.