‘I’m a ghost’: India’s MMA fighter Varun Sanyal exposes Asian Games chaos after 2 days without sleep, then deletes posts

Varun Sanyal, a bronze medallist at the Asian Championships in China in January 2026, opened up about the ordeal he faced upon arriving in Japan for the Asian Games, where he will represent India in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which is making its debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Some Indian athletes staying aboard the much-criticised Costa Serena cruise ship have complained that rooms meant for two are being shared by three, while competitors from the host nation have also reportedly been forced to look for alternate accommodation amid the organisational chaos surrounding the mega-event.

In a seven-minute video he later deleted on social media, Sanyal detailed the difficulties he faced after travelling from London to Nagoya via Mumbai and Singapore. He spoke about the long delays at the convention centre, where athletes were left waiting for clearance. Despite having an official accreditation ID card, which also serves as his visa, Sanyal said officials could not find his name in the system. He also spoke about being left waiting for around three hours without a clear resolution or food, detailing the confusion and frustration he experienced upon reaching Japan.

"It's been one crazy day, and it's still not over. I thought it was done, but it's not. There's a lot of chaos with regards to the athletes' rooms and assignment of rooms. Had this happened in India, 100% this would be a bigger deal. The media would be running wild with it, and India as a country wouldn't hear the end of it," Sanyal said in the video.

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The chaos only worsened as Sanyal was moved between multiple venues before eventually being directed to a cruise ship being used as athlete accommodation. After finally getting to his assigned room, he managed to shower and settle down for some much-needed rest. But just 30 minutes later, he woke up to find two other Indian athletes standing in the room, equally confused.

“When you get to Nagoya, from the airport they take you on a shuttle... and as soon as you get there, it's total chaos. I go to the counter... and they just cannot find my name anywhere in the system. Like, I'm a total ghost in their system. This took about two hours... I'm not exaggerating, two hours they're like running around. By the time we left that facility, it had been three hours. By the way, my situation wasn't solved,” he added.

The organisers had apparently double-booked the room and issued the same room keys to all three athletes. Sanyal also said athletes from other countries, including Tajikistan and Sri Lanka, were facing similar problems. Frustrated by the repeated mix-ups and lack of coordination, he questioned the level of organisation at the Games, saying such a situation would have created a major uproar had it happened in India.

Varun expresses his shock

The Indian MMA athlete took to X to reveal that two fellow Indian athletes had suddenly turned up in his room, only to discover that they, too, had been assigned the same room. He later deleted that post as well.

"Update: After 2 days of being awake and 10 hours of waiting, I was given a room. I fell asleep for a grand total of 30 minutes before being woken up to 2 Indian athletes staring at me confusedly. Turns out, they were assigned this room but are now stranded," Sanyal wrote on X.