South Korea volleyball team latest to be bussed to wrong Asian Games venue

NAGOYA – South Korea were victims of another Asian Games transport mix-up in Japan when the bus carrying their men’s volleyball team went to a venue an hour away from where they should have gone.

The Games in Aichi-Nagoya have been dogged by organisational problems, with accommodation and transport for the more than 17,000 athletes and officials prime among them.

South Korea’s volleyball players were forced to cancel their practice on the morning of Sept 28 ahead of the group game with Taiwan later in the day following the latest logistical issue.

“An organiser-provided shuttle bus took our team to Okazaki instead of its training venue in Inuyama yesterday morning,” an official from the Korea Volleyball Association told AFP on Sept 29.

“With too much time lost to turn back, the training was cancelled.

“We lodged a formal complaint to the organisers through the KSOC,” the official added, referring to South Korea’s Olympic committee.

The volleyball team went on to beat Taiwan 3-1.

South Korea’s men’s basketball team were forced to miss training ahead of their final against Japan earlier in September when their bus failed to turn up.

The gaffe did not affect their results as they went on to win the title.

Also on Sept 28, the Pakistan men’s volleyball side were bussed to the incorrect arena for their game with Uzbekistan, forcing the contest to be pushed back by 45 minutes.

“This is another mismanagement by Japan at the ongoing Asian Games,” Pakistan captain Murad Jehan said from the bus in an Instagram video.

Organisers admit there have been cases of official buses turning up at incorrect times, or not at all.

They said they are working to improve transport services and are in close contact with teams to sort out any problems. AFP