South Korea-Pakistan Buses Swapped, Derailing Training... Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee Apologizes for Repeated Transportation Fiascos [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee has officially apologized for derailing the South Korean men's national volleyball team's training schedule through an absurd shuttle-bus mix-up.
The organizing committee held a press conference at the Nagoya Main Press Center in Japan on the 29th and said, "The problem occurred because on-site staff gave the players incorrect directions as they boarded the buses." It added, "Although it was a simple mistake, we take seriously the inconvenience caused to the team and sincerely apologize." The committee continued, "Going forward, we will thoroughly check the teams boarding each bus and their destinations to prevent a recurrence."
Earlier, South Korea's men's national volleyball team boarded a shuttle bus assigned by the organizing committee on the morning of the 28th for training, but the bus headed to Okazaki instead of its intended destination, Inuyama Gymnasium. A transportation official had mistakenly switched the buses for the South Korean and Pakistani delegations. Forced to travel for more than an hour again to reach the training venue, the South Korean team ultimately canceled training and returned to its accommodation. Pakistan's team was also taken to the wrong location and failed to arrive on time, causing its match that day to be delayed by about 30 minutes. South Korea, which faced Taiwan without training, fortunately won 3-1 in sets.
The event has seen repeated incidents that defy common sense involving transportation, a basic part of operations. On the 15th, South Korea's men's national soccer team was dropped off at a baseball stadium instead of the match venue after its shuttle-bus driver confused the destination. On the 16th, no bus was arranged at all, leaving the team stranded. The men's national basketball team also could not train because the vehicle scheduled to take it to the training venue did not arrive on the morning of the 20th, the day of its final against Japan.
Teams from other countries have also been suffering from transportation problems. During the women's volleyball placement match on the 21st, Vietnam's team bus arrived 1 hour and 15 minutes late, delaying the match. Concerned by the series of transportation fiascos, South Korea's national baseball team has even gone so far as to charter an outside bus at its own expense to travel. 

[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter