Complaints of logistical mismanagement continued to mount at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, with Pakistan volleyball captain Murad Jehan saying his team were taken to the wrong venue ahead of their Pool A match against Uzbekistan.
A glum-looking Jehan took to Instagram to vent his frustration at what he termed “another mismanagement” at the Games.
“We have a very important match and the bus driver doesn’t know which gymnasium we are going to play,” he said in a video from the bus.
“He took a wrong way and came to a wrong gymnasium and now we are short of time. It’s an embarrassing situation,” he added. “We did not expect this from Japan. This should not have happened.”
Games organisers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Jehan said the detour left the squad with no time for a proper warm-up, forcing players to change into their playing kit on the moving bus.
“Really disappointing situation. This is not the only mismanagement that athletes are facing here,” he said, adding food was not always available to athletes at dining areas following their training sessions.
Pakistan brushed off the disruption once they reached the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, cruising to their second successive victory with a 3-0 win over Uzbekistan.
On Saturday, the Games’ chief organiser apologised for widespread logistical glitches, explaining that a late influx of approximately 2,000 additional athletes and team officials had overwhelmed operational planning.
