Transport Blunders Plague Asian Games as South Korea and Pakistan Teams Sent to Wrong Venues

The 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya run until October 4, 2026. South Koreans became the latest victims of an Asian Games transport mix-up in Japan when the bus carrying their men’s volleyball team headed to a venue an hour away from the intended destination.

South Korea’s volleyball players had to cancel their training on Monday morning ahead of their group game against Taiwan later that day following this 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 the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

“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. Despite the disruption, the volleyball team went on to defeat Taiwan 3-1.

Repeated organisational failures at the games in Aichi-Nagoya have left athletes frustrated, with accommodation and transport for more than 17,000 athletes and officials among the main issues. South Korea’s men’s basketball team were previously forced to miss training ahead of their final against Japan last week when their bus failed to turn up, though the gaffe did not affect their results as they went on to win the title.

Also on Monday, Pakistan’s men’s volleyball players were bussed to the wrong arena for their match against Uzbekistan, delaying the contest 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.

A spokesperson for the local organising committee explained that the Pakistani and South Korean teams had departed from the same accommodation, resulting in “an error in matching teams to vehicles.” She stated, “Each boarded a bus heading to the wrong destination. We sincerely apologise to both teams for the inconvenience.”

“We caused great inconvenience, and the organising committee takes this seriously,” the spokesperson added. “It is basic, but we will again make sure boarding teams and vehicle destinations are properly checked and displayed, and work to prevent a recurrence.”