According to AFP report on September 28th, during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the official bus carrying the Pakistani men's volleyball team sent the team to the wrong venue. As result, the group match between the Pakistan team and Uzbekistan team had to start 45 minutes later.
It is reported that the bus was supposed to take the team to the Ganzoki City Gymnasium in the southeast direction of Nagoya, but it mistakenly took the team to another volleyball stadium about an hour away. According to the official announcement of the event, “Therefore, the team arrived at the correct venue too late, and we had to postpone the match by 45 minutes.”
However, despite the traffic mishap, the Pakistan team defeated Uzbekistan with a score of 3-0.
Pakistan men's volleyball team captain Murad Jehan expressed his dissatisfaction via Instagram video in the team bus. He said, "This is another example of poor management by Japan at the Asian Games. We have a very important match, but the bus driver doesn't know which stadium we are going to visit."
He added, "We are extremely disappointed with the Japanese organizers. Such things shouldn’t happen. There have been too many misunderstandings! It’s one thing not to eat properly, but now there are even problems with transportation. The organization of the Asian Games shouldn’t be so unreliable."
According to AFP, this incident is another example of the chaotic organization of this Asian Games. The event organizers have received numerous complaints regarding accommodation and transportation services. The participating teams have found that buses sometimes arrive at the wrong times, or even do not arrive at all.
According to Yonhap news, on September 15th, before the match between South Korea and Qatar in Group D of the men's football tournament, two shuttle buses sent by the organizing committee got lost. Both teams were taken to a baseball stadium in Nagoya's Meguro Park, which had no Asian Games events scheduled that day. This caused both teams to arrive at the correct venue about 30 minutes later than planned. It was also raining heavily at the time, and the players could not warm up until around 18:45, significantly reducing the preparation time before the match.
Regarding the diet issues mentioned by Jehan, Thai media outlet Khao Sod also reported on the matter. A video posted by Thailands Taekwondo coach Revawut on social media showed that his plate contained only 3 pieces of chicken, a very small amount of side dishes, and half a cup of white rice or a small bowl of noodles. When he tried to get some more vegetables, he was stopped by the staff. The coach sarcastically said, "They only gave me a little." Concerned that the insufficient lunch provided at the venue might affect the athletes, the Thai team had to arrange additional meals on their own.
