Asian Games 2026: From transport to accommodation- Athletes face multiple issues at Aichi-Nagoya
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Asian Games 2026: From transport to accommodation- Athletes face multiple issues at Aichi-Nagoya")
Asian Games 2026: From transport to accomodation - Athletes face multiple issues at Aichi-Nayoga Photograph: (X/AsianGames_2026)
The 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, opened with widespread chaos as athletes faced severe transport delays, distant hotel arrangements on a cruise ship, and misdirected team buses.
The Asian Games 2026, which officially start on Saturday (September 19) in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, have already hit chaos and mismanagement. Athletes from multiple countries, including India, have dealt with issues like accommodation, transportation, and more even before the games started. The reputation of Japan being impeccable about things including planning and preparation is also being questioned after the Asian Games 2026 mismanagement.
What are the issues athletes are facing at the Asian Games 2026?
The Indian shooting contingent has been offered accommodation nearly 50-60 kilometres away from the practice location, making it a logistical nightmare for them to commute to and from the venue.
"The hotels are about 50-60 kms away from the range. The bus could accommodate only 50 persons. The first bus came late, and the second bus too was late," The Indian Express reported, citing one of the members of the Indian shooting contingent. "It took us close to two hours to reach the range. It took less time on return. But such delays can be frustrating for shooters sometimes," it added.
As for South Korea, their football team, which had a match against Qatar, was taken to a baseball arena. The bus eventually arrived at the correct location 30 minutes later.
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"Based on my experience, this is the worst it has ever been," Jung Jae-Yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, told news agency AFP.
The Indian athletes, which included a wushu practitioner, two Indian coaches and a masseur, had to wait six hours before being allotted a room on the hotel, which is essentially an Italian cruise ship, Costa Serena. "While the wushu players had to wait for some time before they were sent to the cruise ship, we, coaches and the masseur, had to wait for more than six hours at the assembly area," said a coach.
Varun Sanyal, India's MMA athlete, also posted a video on social media, which has now been deleted, about the issues and said: "I can confirm this is true. I’m currently on 7 hours and counting."
Japan’s deputy chef de mission Hisashi Mizutori, meanwhile, has admitted the shortcomings and said to the Japan Times, "We are currently working to coordinate and negotiate adjustments wherever possible. For cases where that proves too difficult, we are considering using the backup accommodations that Team Japan prepared in advance as alternatives."
