OLYMPICS/Badminton star Tai Tzu-ying satisfied with hotel arrangement

Taipei, July 20 (CNA) After complaining of flight arrangements to Tokyo a day earlier, Olympic badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) appeared satisfied with her hotel room in Tokyo, praising its location close to the Olympic venue for badminton events.

"It saves commuting time and allows more time to rest. It's very good," the 27-year-old Tai wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday morning.

She said the athletes' village is about 50 minutes away from the badminton venue by car, but her hotel is only a 10-minute drive away. "It'll give me more time to rest and prepare whether before or after a match."

Taiwan's badminton team is staying at the Marroad Inn Tokyo in Chofu City west of downtown Tokyo, about 2 kilometers from the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, one of the venues for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

On Monday, Tai released a post showing her sitting in an economy class seat on a China Airlines charter flight carrying Taiwanese Olympic athletes and support staff to Tokyo.

She said she missed flying to international competitions with EVA Air, as she could enjoy bigger seats in business class.

The government had promised the athletes that they would fly in business class to and from the Olympics, but on Monday's charter flight, only officials, coaches and team doctors were seated in the plane's 36-seat business class cabin.

The Sports Administration said the move was necessary to give athletes more space between them, giving the limited number of business class seats on the plane, and promised that it will have all Taiwanese athletes in business class seats on their way back to Taiwan.

Tai's post drew an apology from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who had pledged that all Taiwanese athletes and coaches competing in major international sports events during her time in office would fly overseas in business class.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) also apologized and pledged to review the arrangements and pursue those responsible for them after the end of the Olympic Games.

A total of 68 Taiwanese athletes are scheduled to compete at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 18 sports, including badminton, shooting, golf and weightlifting.