The Asian Games 2026 have run into an accommodation mess in Nagoya, with Indian athletes left waiting for rooms for several hours after arriving in Japan. Indian MMA star Varun Sanyal has now confirmed the situation, revealing that he too was caught up in the long wait.
Several Asian Games delegations faced delays after arriving in Nagoya, with a system failure affecting athlete information and preventing some competitors from boarding their designated shuttles. Sanyal, who will represent India in the traditional MMA 77kg category, confirmed the disruption on X and said he had already been waiting for seven hours.
“I can confirm this is true… I’m currently on 7 hours and counting,” Sanyal posted on X.
The accommodation trouble has affected members of India’s contingent, with some athletes waiting for more than 14 hours before their rooms were sorted. During the lengthy wait, athletes were provided drinking water, while the absence of proper accommodation and delays in transportation added to the frustration of competitors arriving just days before their events.
The timing has made the situation particularly inconvenient for India’s athletes, with several contingents already beginning their final preparations. The shooting team, whose competition starts on September 20, is also dealing with long journeys to its training venue, with travel reportedly taking more than two hours in some cases.
THAILAND TEAM ALSO CAUGHT IN CHAOS
India are not the only contingent to have faced problems in Nagoya. Athletes from Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand have also encountered accommodation difficulties as delegations arrived ahead of the Games.
Thailand’s national Sepak Takraw team had an especially unusual arrival experience after reaching Nagoya on September 16. Their accommodation details were missing from the system, leaving the team without assigned rooms aboard the Costa Serena, the cruise ship being used to accommodate athletes.
The situation left members of the Thai team waiting on the floor of the cruise ship’s lobby while officials worked to resolve the problem. The athletes were eventually placed temporarily in rooms allocated to other members of the Thai delegation as the accommodation issue was addressed.
The Costa Serena is one of the main accommodation hubs for the Games, with thousands of athletes and officials staying aboard the ship. Organisers are also using converted shipping containers and hotels across the region instead of a conventional athletes’ village.
INDIA FACES LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE
For India, the accommodation problems have added another layer to the logistical challenge in Nagoya. The contingent is spread across the cruise ship, container-style accommodation and hotels, while transportation to training venues has also emerged as a concern.
India’s deputy chef-de-mission A Sharath Kamal had earlier said athletes were prepared for the unusual accommodation arrangements. The Sports Authority of India had also created container-style rooms at its centres to give athletes an idea of what to expect in Nagoya.
But initial experience has shown that the challenge extends beyond simply getting accustomed to different rooms. Athletes arriving for a major competition need to settle quickly, recover properly and get into their training routines, making delays with accommodation and transport an unwelcome distraction.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games officially begin on September 19 and run until October 4. With thousands of athletes and officials arriving in Japan, organisers will need to resolve the accommodation and transportation issues as competition gets underway.
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