▲ The shuttle bus stop in front of the Main Media Center for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on September 24.
The organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has issued an apology regarding transportation issues that prevented the South Korean men's volleyball team from completing their training schedule.
During a press conference held at the Main Press Center in Nagoya, Japan, on September 29, the organizing committee stated, "The cause of this incident was incorrect guidance given by on-site staff while the athletes were boarding the buses." They added, "It was a simple mistake. We take the inconvenience caused very seriously and offer our apologies."
On the morning of September 28, the volleyball team boarded a shuttle bus assigned by the organizing committee for training, but ended up heading to the wrong venue and failed to carry out their training session.
According to Kyodo News, the problem occurred when a transportation official mistakenly guided the Pakistani delegation onto the bus that the South Korean delegation was supposed to board, and placed the South Korean delegation onto the bus meant for the Pakistani delegation.
Because the Pakistani delegation was also transported to the wrong location, their match schedule was delayed by about 30 minutes.
Bizarre operational mishaps related to transportation have been repeatedly occurring at this tournament.
On the morning of September 20, the day of the final match against Japan, the South Korean men's basketball team could not practice because the vehicle scheduled to take them to the training ground did not arrive. Similarly, the South Korean under-23 (U-23) men's football team experienced disruptions in their schedule on September 16 when a vehicle to transport them to the training site was not dispatched.
In addition, the women's volleyball placement match scheduled for September 21 was delayed after the bus to transport the Vietnamese team arrived one hour and 15 minutes late.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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