Asian Games: 2000 Indians ready to accommodate athletes after hotel crisis

After an unprecedented accommodation crisis left several Indian athletes stranded without rooms in Nagoya, the Indian government has turned to an unexpected support network. Around 2,000 Indians living in the Japanese city have been asked to remain on standby and help accommodate Indian athletes if they struggle to find a place to stay during the Asian Games.

The Asian Games have been hit by a major accommodation crisis in Nagoya, with organisers struggling to provide rooms for the thousands of athletes and officials who have arrived in Japan for the quadrennial event.

Several Indian athletes faced similar problems upon landing in Japan, with some waiting for up to 12 hours before they were finally accommodated. With more members of the Indian contingent still expected to arrive in Nagoya, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has now prepared an additional contingency plan by reaching out to the Indian community in the city.

The Indian families living in Nagoya have been asked to remain on standby until the accommodation crisis is brought under control. If required, they could provide temporary accommodation to Indian athletes who are unable to secure rooms through the official Games arrangements.

The move comes after India's support team had already taken several measures to deal with the crisis, including booking additional hotel rooms and arranging transport for athletes who were left waiting at airports.

The accommodation problems became apparent soon after the Indian contingent began arriving in Nagoya.

India's Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav said on Friday that he only learnt after reaching the city that around 30 to 35 Indian athletes had been removed from the accommodation list.

The organisers had told India that more athletes than expected had arrived. Yadav, however, said the Indian contingent had stuck to the number of athletes for whom accommodation had been invoiced.

"They (Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee) informed us that more players than expected had come (from India). But as far as India is concerned, that's not the case. We stuck to the number of players they had invoiced. But they removed some names, so we booked hotels for them... we faced difficulty with regard to 30-35 athletes," Yadav said.

India initially booked 18 additional hotel rooms and planned to add another 10, enough to accommodate around 30 athletes. The affected athletes were from badminton and shooting.

The Indian contingent also arranged vehicles to pick athletes up from the airport and take them to their accommodation, while deputy chefs de mission Alaknanda Ashok and Anjali Bhagwat personally went to the airport to receive arriving athletes.

"Everyone has got accommodation and there is absolutely no problem at our end. Initially, when there were problems, we booked extra hotel rooms. Our team is going to the airport every time to fetch the athletes," Yadav said.

Now, with the possibility of further accommodation problems as the contingent continues to arrive, the Indian community in Nagoya has been brought into the contingency plans.

The move provides India with another layer of support if the official accommodation arrangements fail to keep pace with the number of athletes arriving in the city.

Yadav had earlier acknowledged that there had been mismanagement, but insisted that India's priority was to make sure the accommodation problems did not affect the athletes' preparation.

"Yes, there is mismanagement, but it's a big event and it can happen. But we have to look beyond that," he said.

For India, looking beyond the crisis has now meant preparing for the possibility that even more athletes could need a place to stay.

And with around 2,000 Indians living in Nagoya now on standby, the Indian community could become an unlikely part of India's accommodation safety net at the Asian Games.- EndsPublished By: Kingshuk KusariPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 19:10 IST