Asian games or Hunger games? Indians waiting for hours, Thai sleeping on floors, Koreans Stuck in containers, Typhoon threat: Disasters mount at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan

As the 20th Asian Games prepare to open on September 19, 2026, what was expected to showcase Japanese efficiency has instead descended into organisational chaos. Athletes from India, Thailand, South Korea, China, the Philippines and even the host nation itself have reported long waits, substandard accommodations, food shortages, transport failures, and bureaucratic errors.

It seems the decision to skip a traditional Athletes’ Village in favour of hotels, wooden container huts and a docked cruise ship justified as cost-saving and sustainable has severely backfired as the planning failures have led to more than 17,000 participants struggling with basic logistics. 

Indian Players: Hours of Waiting and Poor Accommodations

Indian athletes arrived to find their names missing from systems and rooms unallocated. Some waited more than 12 hours, in certain cases until even near midnight for rooms on the Costa Serena cruise ship. Around 30–35 athletes (mainly from badminton and shooting) were dropped from the official accommodation list after arrival, forcing the Indian contingent to scramble and book 18 extra hotel rooms (with plans for 10 more). Rooms meant for two were shared by three. Food was scarce during the waits; officials provided only water in some instances, leaving athletes to rely on supplies brought from India.

Transport delays caused missed training, and one gymnast was initially assigned the same room as her male coach. India’s Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav described the situation as mismanagement and said the team had to arrange its own vehicles and lodging.

Indian MMA fighter Varun Sanyal, who himself was shuttled between facilities because his name could not be located despite a valid ID, highlighted the irony: “If this happened in India, oh my God, the media would be going crazy, not just in India, but globally. We would’ve been the butt of the joke.” 

Thai, South Koreans and Qatari Athletes suffer

Thailand’s sepak takraw team faced even more basic failures. Photos circulated of players forced to sleep on the floor after arriving to find no proper room bookings arranged. Deputy delegation chief Chalitrat Chandrubeksa was quoted by Enquirer stating that the Japanese organisers had failed to submit their team’s documents. The athletes were then allocated rooms promised to other Thai athletes.

🚨 THAI SEPAK TAKRAW TEAM LEFT WITHOUT ROOMS AT ASIAN GAMES

Thailand’s national sepak takraw team was reportedly forced to sleep on the floor of a cruise ship lobby after arriving in Nagoya for #AsianGames2026, with their accommodation records reportedly missing.

NOT A GOOD… https://t.co/CRZknhTjWf pic.twitter.com/xgkbVlif0r

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 17, 2026

Meanwhile the South Korean athletes assigned to the container-style huts near Nagoya Port called the facilities the “worst ever.” Beds were too short for taller basketball players to stretch their legs. Videos showed leaking sinks flooding floors, prompting one player to post an urgent plea for help. Cramped shared spaces and long distances to venues added to the frustration. 

In a separate embarrassment, organisers played North Korea’s national anthem instead of South Korea’s before the men’s hockey match against Bangladesh. Players stood confused until the stadium announcer apologised repeatedly and the correct anthem was played. South Korea went on to win 5-0.

A mishap involving a shuttle bus carrying athletes also got lost while another reached a wrong destination. South Korean and Qatari national soccer teams ended up at a nearby baseball stadium instead of Mizuho Rugby Stadium, the venue for the football match. Mizuho Park houses multiple sports facilities, including the main stadium for the opening ceremony of this Asian Games. However, the baseball stadium the team was taken to does not host any Asian Games events.

The baseball events for this tournament are held in a different city within Aichi Prefecture, not in Nagoya. Latwe, with recovery training scheduled on Wednesday 16th, they realised no vehicles were assigned for transportation to the training venue. The team had urgently secured alternative vehicles from the morning, exhausting their efforts arriving late for training. Earlier, manager Lee Min-sung and team officials also faced delays in attending a press conference after the assigned vehicle failed to arrive at the accommodation.

Chinese and Philippine Athletes Also Hit Hard

The Aichi Sky Expo, a venue next to Chubu Centrair International Airport, of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, became a mass of stranded passengers as arriving delegations waited hours for transfers to their official accommodation, reported Xinhua. The on-site system failed to find information for a large number of athletes, the piece reported, leaving them unable to board the pre-arranged shuttle buses. Only two of the 21 members of China’s gymnastics team could be found in the on-site system, according to a delegation member, leaving the entire team stranded. The exhausted athletes used the downtime to train, laying out yoga mats to stay warmed up.

Chinese world-champion gymnast Zhang Boheng and teammates waited six hours after landing for registration. Heavy rain then blocked boarding of the cruise ship. “I’m totally exhausted,” Zhang said. “I didn’t expect that after breakfast at 7 am the next time I could eat would be close to 7 pm… A whole day was basically wasted.” The group booked their own hotel. Other Chinese teams, including badminton, needed help from their consulate and local residents for transport after shuttle failures. The hashtag “Asian Games absurd” gathered more than 94 million views on Chinese social media.

Meanwhile Vietnam’s women’s volleyball team was also dropped off at the wrong hotel due to a mistake in directions from the organizing committee. Players and coaching staff lugged their suitcases and equipment under the scorching sun walking a considerable distance to their designated accommodations, reported Hankook Ilbo. The Philippine athletes had their own share of troubles as they received rooms, but coaches and officials were moved to separate hotels and Airbnbs because of shortages.

Even Japanese athletes faced problems. Officials reported cases of male and female athletes being assigned shared rooms, and coaches placed with athletes. Credential delays left some waiting for hours, forcing the Japanese Olympic Committee to activate contingency hotel bookings.

Typhoon Dujuan Threatens Further Disruption

Compounding the organisational chaos is the approaching Typhoon Dujuan (also known as Typhoon No. 25). The storm is forecast to pass near the Ogasawara Islands and move toward Japan’s main island, with a possible approach to the Aichi-Nagoya region around September 21 — just two days after the official opening. It has been packing sustained winds of around 90 km/h and gusts up to 126 km/h, with potential for heavy rain (up to 150–300 mm in parts of the Tokai and surrounding areas), strong winds, flooding, landslides, and transport disruption.

Organisers have warned that athletes could face temporary evacuation if torrential rain triggers emergency alerts. The Costa Serena cruise ship, housing around 4,000 participants, may need to be moved into open waters for safety, which would further complicate transport to venues. Japan’s chef de mission Kosei Inoue and Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa have stated that competitions will continue under normal rainy conditions but that contingency plans are in place for severe weather. Last week’s record rainfall had already forced hundreds of athletes to evacuate accommodations and delayed some events.

A Note on the Perceptions and Double Standards

Organisers have defended the arrangements as practical responses to budget and sustainability goals, stating that all accredited participants now have lodging and that issues are being addressed as temporary teething problems.

What is shocking is that had this been India who had hosted such a poor and chaotic games, Japan, asia and the rest of the world would have spared no end in thrashing, berating and humiliating India for every little mistake.

As an example In 2023 Japanese shuttler Nozomi Okuhara did not get transport after reaching Cuttack for the Odisha Open. She waited four hours to check in and was not given a shuttle or car for her 8 am practice. She posted on social media. India was shamed and Japanese voices tore into the hosts. The actual issue was that the Japanese athlete side never sent an email with their logistics and that was the reason delay. India’s BAI still apologised and put it in writing that it would not happen again. This incident apparently caused the jobs and suspensions of many officials in India. With the usual ‘sorry japan for our poor hosting’ messages flooding social media from weak mentality Indians.

However look at it now, despite the current failures and chaos the Japanese people remain largely unbothered. No ‘we are sorry India or Thailand or China’ messages flooding social media frim the public, who even cares. This is a lesson to Indians to not go groveling around and shaming your own nation for every little thing and learn how no one else cares about the problems you or your people have, no matter how many ‘sorry’ and ‘japan is greatest’ posts you make.