Asian Games: South Korea volleyball team latest to be taken to wrong venue

Transporting athletes to the wrong location has emerged as a recurring issue at the Asian Games in Japan.

South Koreans were victims of another Asian Games transport mix-up in Japan when the bus carrying their men’s volleyball team went to a venue an hour away from where they were supposed to go.

South Korea’s volleyball players were forced to cancel their training on Monday morning before the group game against Taiwan later in the day following the latest logistical issue.

“An organiser-provided shuttle bus took our team to Okazaki instead of its training venue in Inuyama yesterday morning,” an official from the Korea Volleyball Association told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.

“With too much time lost to turn back, the training was cancelled. We lodged a formal complaint to the organisers through the KSOC,” the official added, referring to South Korea’s Olympic committee.

The volleyball team went on to beat Taiwan 3-1.

Repeated organisational failures at the games in Aichi-Nagoya have left athletes frustrated, with accommodation and transport for more than 17,000 athletes and officials among the main issues.

South Korea’s men’s basketball team were forced to miss training ahead of their final against Japan last week when their bus failed to turn up. The gaffe did not affect their results as they went on to win the title.

Also on Monday, Pakistan’s men’s volleyball players were bussed to the wrong arena for their match against Uzbekistan, delaying it by 45 minutes.

“This is another mismanagement by Japan at the ongoing Asian Games,” Pakistan captain Murad Jehan said from the bus in an Instagram video.

A spokesperson for the local organising committee said the Pakistani and South Korean teams had departed from the same accommodation and there was “an error in matching teams to vehicles”.

“Each boarded a bus heading to the wrong destination. We sincerely apologise to both teams for the inconvenience,” she said.

“We caused great inconvenience, and the organising committee takes this seriously,” the spokesperson added.

“It is basic, but we will again make sure boarding teams and vehicle destinations are properly checked and displayed, and work to prevent a recurrence.”