Asian Games 2026 Controversy: Athletes Left Stranded For Hours In Nagoya; Male, Female Athletes Assigned Shared Rooms

An Asian Games without an Athletes’ Village was always going to be an experiment. In Aichi-Nagoya, that experiment is now being tested by the athletes themselves. Instead of bringing thousands of competitors together under one roof, organisers have spread accommodation across hotels, temporary facilities and a cruise ship. But as athletes have started arriving in Japan, the convenience promised by the unusual arrangement has been accompanied by a string of complaints — including long waits for rooms, unsuitable allocations, available food, and concerns about facilities around competition venues.

For India’s contingent, the problems began before some athletes had even settled into their Games accommodation.

India’s rowing contingent was among those caught up in the accommodation confusion at the Costa Serena cruise ship.

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According to The New Indian Express, Indian rowers arrived at the ship at around 9 AM Japan Standard Time on Wednesday but some were still waiting for rooms more than 14 hours later. One rower told the publication that only some members had received rooms by around 8:30 PM.

The wait also affected their routine. The rowers told the publication that they had water but were relying on food they had carried with them while waiting for their accommodation.

Indian shooters faced a different problem. The facility they had been assigned was reportedly already occupied by other teams, forcing the contingent to move to another hotel.

Asian Games athlete Varun Sanyal confirms the chaotic situation in Japan, with multiple athletes left stranded without proper accommodation.

Varun Sanyal will represent India in MMA at the Asian Games 2026. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/Tguc1ludIm

The problems have also involved athletes from Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand, according to reports.

On social media reports are going viral that athletes from Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand were also left waiting for accommodation at the venue, with some athletes choosing to sleep on the floor because temporary arrangements were not available.

🚨 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

Meanwhile, the Korea Basketball Association criticised the size of beds provided for its men’s basketball players, while a Korean player posted footage showing problems inside a container-style accommodation unit.

One of the most striking complaints has come from Japan’s own delegation. As quoted by the Economic Times, on Thursday, Japan’s delegation was considering alternative accommodation after cases in which male and female athletes were assigned shared rooms.

Japan’s deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori said room allocations had, in some cases, been made according to numbers rather than the practical needs of the athletes. He gave an example involving five twin rooms being allocated for a group consisting of five men and five women.

“There have been cases where coaches, team officials, and athletes have been assigned to the same room. There are also situations where room assignments were made purely based on the numbers, such as assigning five twin rooms for a group of five men and five women,” they said as quoted by ET.

The same process also resulted in cases where coaches were assigned rooms with athletes and trainers were placed in rooms that did not adequately account for their medical equipment, according to Reuters.

The Japanese Olympic Committee has prepared hotel rooms as a backup and is considering using them where existing allocations cannot be adjusted.

For some athletes, the concern is what happens when they leave their accommodation or finish training.

The Games are being staged across a wide area rather than around a single Athletes’ Village. Badminton, for example, is being held at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, away from the main Nagoya cluster.

This doesn’t feel like an Asian Games-level badminton venue 👀 https://t.co/d03eji1t2v

Reports and athlete accounts have raised concerns about the surroundings of some venues, including limited access to eateries and other facilities.

The decision to avoid a conventional Athletes’ Village was one of the defining logistical choices of these Games.

Organisers are instead using existing hotels, temporary wooden accommodation, and the Costa Serena cruise ship at Nagoya’s Kinjo Pier. Reuters reported that the ship can accommodate about 4,000 participants, while around 2,000 more are expected to stay in temporary huts.

The model was intended to avoid the expense of constructing a large, permanent Games village. But the number of participants also grew from the original planning figure of around 15,000 to roughly 17,000 after additional sports were added.

The opening ceremony is on September 19. But some of the events have already started on September 17, including Teqball, in which India had two representatives.