Asian Games 2026: Indian athlete, coaches struggle for registration at venue

Wushu and table tennis players, as well as a few shuttlers, were among the first Indian athletes to check in for the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, but the process was not completely hassle-free.

The seven-member wushu contingent, accompanied by two coaches, reached Nagoya in the afternoon.

It is learnt that one player and two coaches did not find their names at the venue during the registration process.

"Six wushu players got their rooms at the cruise ship docked at the Nagoya port. However, one player and two coaches did not have their names there," a member of the contingent said around two hours after reaching the venue for registration.

An Indian Olympic Association (IOA) official, however, said all the players had got their rooms on the Italian cruise ship.

The wushu and table tennis players are among the Indian athletes who are scheduled to stay on the cruise ship during the Games, which begin on Saturday. Both wushu and table tennis events start on Sunday and so they were among the first to reach here.

The table tennis contingent also underwent "a long process" before finally checking in at the cruise ship in the evening.

"It is a long process after reaching the cruise," a member of the table tennis contingent said.

"But now things have settled."

There have been reports that the number of rooms earmarked for Indian athletes on the cruise ship is less than the number allotted, but this could not be independently confirmed.

There are also reports that officials from the Philippines have been moved to Airbnbs due to a shortage of hotel accommodation.

Deputy Chef de Mission Achanta Sharath Kamal simply said the athletes had started checking in and that "there is not much of a problem."

India's contingent of 501 athletes and 265 officials will be spread across container-style rooms, a docked cruise ship and hotels, much like the nearly 17,000 other participants who will be in Aichi-Nagoya for the Games beginning September 19.

The container rooms have been criticised as too small by the South Korean contingent, while some Asian Cricket Council members have also voiced concerns over the quality of accommodation on offer.

Around 4,000-5,000 athletes will be housed in the luxury cruise liner Costa Serena, which will be docked at Nagoya Port.

Around 2,000 athletes will stay in converted shipping container units at the Garden Pier in Nagoya Bay.

The remaining athletes and officials — in fact, the majority of the total participants — will be accommodated at commercial hotels near competition venues across Aichi Prefecture and even in Tokyo, where a few events such as swimming will be held.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed.)