If there was a medal for public relations, the Australian Olympic team would already be out of contention.

With 10 days to go until the start of the Rio Games, Australia already appears to have lost any chance of winning over the local Brazilian fans.

Australia chef de mission Kitty Chiller’s blasting of conditions in the Rio athletes’ village has snowballed into the pre-Olympics story of the moment, and looks to have turned local sentiment against the team.

Chiller confirmed Australian athletes would stay in hotels in the Brazilian city until serious safety and hygiene concerns in their section of the athletes’ village were addressed.

The development totally overshadowed the official opening of the Olympic Village, and has even taken some of the media spotlight away from the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to slap a blanket ban on the Russian team.

“Water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was ‘shorting’ in the electrical wiring,” Chiller said.

Rio Mayor steps in

This seemingly justified reaction provoked a humorous – but decidedly pointed – retort from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes.

“I almost feel like putting a kangaroo in front of their building to make them feel at home,” Paes was reported to have said, before offering assurances that work was being done to fix the issues outlined by the Australian Olympic Committee.

“It is natural that you have some kind of adjustments to do, but we will make Australians feel at home here.”

Paes then was reported by local media as saying Rio village was “more beautiful and better” than Sydney’s equivalent in 2000 as a potential international feud began to take shape.

Rio 2016 president Carlos Arthur Nuzman sought to calm the situation, saying: “There are some adjustments that we are dealing with and that will be resolved in a short while.”

Olympic organisers say some 900 people from 66 different National Olympic Committees (NOC) had taken up residence in the village by Sunday afternoon, including around 200 athletes from 20 different countries, including Great Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.

Other teams OK with the village

Other major delegations have reported nothing out of the usual with the Olympic Village pre-games, with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and British Olympic Association (BOA) saying the need for final adjustments to accommodation was normal and that they were working with Rio 2016 organisers to endure everything was in place.

“As is the case with every Games, we’re working with the local organisers to address minor issues and make sure the village is ready for Team USA athletes,” said USOC in a statement.

The British team, one of the first delegations to arrive at the village a week ago, said they have been holding daily meetings with Rio organisers and other NOCs.

The New Zealand delegation, meanwhile, said it welcomed the first of its athletes into the village on Sunday.

New Zealand chef de mission Rob Waddell admitted they discovered a few problems in the Kiwis’ apartment blocks last week, which they have been working overtime to rectify.

“We were disappointed the village wasn’t as ready as it might have been when we arrived and it hasn’t been easy. Our team has had to get stuck in to get the job done,” Waddell said on Monday.

We are in Rio! Already taken ownership of the Village being the very first Athlete from any country to arrive and get through the gates! @zoe_stevenson @evemacfarlane were of course there by my side as usual. All is good, few finishing touches still to be made but when you arrive at 5am on opening day you can’t expect it to be perfect. Next stop the Rowing Venue. Exciting to think racing gets way in under 2 weeks. @nzolympics #roadtorio

A photo posted by Mahe Drysdale (@mahe.drysdale) on Jul 24, 2016 at 5:49am PDT

Champion Kiwi rower Mahe Drysdale was among the first athletes to take up residence, and was upbeat and satisfied with the state of his accommodation.

Sporting crowds love having a villain to focus their derision on as much as they love lauding a hero, and Australia’s athletes may have unwittingly become the default Rio Olympics baddies if the local media runs with the baton offered up by their highest-ranking local government official.

Australian athletes have, on the whole, refrained from commenting about the athletes’ village issue on social media so far, although NBA star Andrew Bogut provided a tongue-in-cheek reply when Chiller posted a photo of one of the bedrooms last week on Twitter.

Very roomy! Team mates can snuggle…. https://t.co/1Vt6IOREJz

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) July 17, 2016

Bogut also offered an Aussie solution to the Brazilian workmanship problems today.

Got some mates from Dandenong that can fix all the building issues in #rio2016 village overnight. Let me know @kittychiller . Oh, cash only!

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) July 24, 2016

Sub-par conditions in athletes villages are nothing new – the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are infamous recent examples – but Australia may face some backlash for blowing the whistle on a city desperately trying to avoid these Games descending into an all-round disaster.

The build-up to the Rio Games has been hampered by low ticket sales, Brazil’s recession, Zika virus fears and street crime problems in the city.

Chiller’s very public criticism of the Olympic Village has given locals a rallying point to defend some of their national pride.