DOHA, Dec 2 - Storm damage played havoc with the start of the Asian Games competition on Saturday as organisers scrambled to get sports underway.

The Games' shuttlers were forced to pack up their rackets when the roof sprung a leak, allowing rainwater to drip onto the court.

Morning play in the women's team badminton event was suspended.

"Even a few drops of water on the fields of play are dangerous," Singaporean referee Mohan Dharan explained.

Officials are crossing their fingers the damage will be fixed in time for the men's competition in the afternoon, and that the untimely spell of wet and windy weather that washed out parts of the opening ceremony will end soon.

At the Hamad Aquatic Centre staff had to work throughout the night mopping up storm water from competition areas, organisers said on Saturday.

Beside the diving pool, equipment was found floating in puddles of water after the night's storms.

The debris and storm water was cleared up and events got underway on time, however.

That was not the case for the soft tennis competition where persistent rain and wet courts delayed the start at the Khalifa courts.

The sport finally got underway almost three hours after the scheduled start time.

Other events kicked off smoothly with baseball, beach volleyball, chess, hockey, kabaddi and sepaktakraw among the sports underway at the December 1-15 Games.

Beach volleyball would continue in the rain and only lightning would cause it to be suspended, an official said.

The extravaganza will feature an estimated 10,000 athletes from 45 countries competing in the gas-rich desert state.

Traditional Asian powerhouses China, South Korea and Japan brought the largest contingents and are expected to dominate the Games as they have for almost three decades.