(Asiad) Accommodation, transportation problems mar 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games
NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- With more than 15,000 athletes and officials bringing a 16-day run to an end on Sunday, the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came under scrutiny over operational problems, including issues involving accommodations and transportation.
Before the opening of the quadrennial continental multisport event on Sept. 19, concerns over accommodation shortages and worse-than-expected lodging for athletes were raised.
As part of their cost-cutting and eco-friendly policies, organizers of the Asian Games did not build a dedicated athletes' village for this year's competition, instead providing accommodations on a cruise ship and in temporary container units, as well as hotels, for about 15,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations.
Under the accommodation plan, some 9,000 athletes were to stay in hotels, while 4,000 were to be housed on the cruise ship and 2,000 in a complex of wooden container units.
Among the roughly 1,000 members of the South Korean delegation, athletes from five sports, including men's basketball, ju-jitsu and cycling, were assigned to stay in the container village, where each container could house up to six people.
This photo taken Sept. 17, 2026, shows container units for athletes built around the port of Nagoya, Japan. (Yonhap)
Byeon Jun-hyeong, a member of the South Korean basketball team, shared short videos showing leaking water and beds that were too small for tall basketball players.
On the 114,000-ton Costa Serena cruise ship, anchored in the port of Nagoya during the competition, athletes complained about the meals and others.
After the final of the women's +86-kilogram weightlifting event on Tuesday, Park Hye-jeong said she had lost about 4kg because she had not been satisfied with the meals served on the cruise ship. She won the silver medal in the event.
This photo taken Sept. 15, 2026, shows the cruise ship Costa Serena anchored in the port of Nagoya in Japan. (Yonhap)
Transportation issues were repeatedly reported throughout the competition, affecting athletes' performance and, in some cases, their schedules.
The South Korean football team arrived at the stadium for its match against Qatar about 30 minutes later than scheduled after the driver of the team bus got lost on the way.
Its recovery training session was delayed on the following day due also to a bus mix-up.
The men's national basketball team missed its shootaround hours before the final against host Japan on Sept. 20 as its scheduled shuttle bus did not show up.
The men's volleyball team also experienced a similar transportation mix-up, which disrupted its training session.
Due to an error in assigning buses on Sept. 28, the bus assigned to the South Korean team transported the Pakistani team, while another bus reserved for Pakistan picked up the South Korean players.
The organizing committee apologized for the transportation mix-up, which affected the South Korean team's practice schedule and delayed Pakistan's preliminary-round match.
Players line up before a Pool A match of men's hockey between South Korea (R) and Bangladesh at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Gifu, Japan, on Sept. 18, 2026, in this photo provided by the Korea Hockey Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
At a South Korean group-round match in men's hockey on Sept. 18, the North Korean anthem was played instead of South Korea's.
On Saturday, after the men's football final, the South Korean national flag was not properly raised during the medal ceremony while the national anthem was played. South Korea won the gold medal after beating Japan 1-0 in the men's football final.
South Korea was not alone, as China and Vietnam were among other countries that complained of operational problems.
A performer depicting Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (2nd from L) appears during a ceremony welcoming the cruise ship Costa Serena to Nagoya, Japan, to serve as accommodation for athletes during the Asian Games on Sept. 15, 2026, in this AFP photo. (Yonhap)
Other controversies also clouded athletes' enthusiasm and efforts at the sports festival.
The welcome ceremony for the Costa Serena on Sept. 15 featured Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, three warlords born in and around Nagoya, in an apparent effort to promote the region's history and culture.
However, the appearance of Hideyoshi drew the ire of the South Korean public, especially given that the slogan of this year's Asian Games is "Imagine One Asia." Hideyoshi was the mastermind behind the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598, also known as the Imjin War, which also affected the then Chinese Ming Dynasty.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) filed an official complaint with the Asian Games organizing committee and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
Ryu Seung-min, president of the KSOC, blasted the organizers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games for their shoddy operations, saying they deserve "a failing grade."
Experts pointed out that indifference from the public and the central government as well as consequent cost-saving efforts were behind the operational mishaps and controversies.
The OCA is already exploring measures to restore the Asian Games' authority, prestige and popularity, including plans to hold the Asian Games in the year immediately preceding the Summer Olympics and use some events as Olympic qualifiers to attract top-tier athletes and thereby boost public interest and attendance.
The national flag of South Korea (C) is not properly raised during the medal ceremony after the men's football gold medal match of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, Japan, on Oct. 3, 2026. (Yonhap)
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