Asian Games 2026: Indian MMA athlete Varun Sanyal has opened up about the accommodation chaos he experienced when he arrived in Nagoya for the continental sporting event. The athlete described hours of confusion over room allocations and how officials had no way of finding his name in their system even though he had an official accreditation card.
Sanyal, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in China earlier this year, described his experiences in a now-deleted video. The report comes as widespread criticism of the accommodation, food and transportation arrangements for athletes at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya over the last few years has spread.
Sanyal said the problems began after he arrived in Nagoya from the airport. He said athletes were transported to a specific place by shuttle, but the process of getting his accommodation sorted quickly became complicated.
Varun Sanyal Says Officials Could Not Find His Name
Sanyal described the situation at the accommodation counter as chaotic in the video. He said officials were unable to find his name in their system, making him wait for a long time even though he had the accreditation.
“It’s been one crazy day, and it’s still not over. I thought it was done, but it’s not. There’s a lot of chaos with regard to the athletes’ rooms and the assignment of rooms," Sanyal said in the video.
He also compared the situation with what he believed would have happened if a similar problem had occurred during an event in India. Sanyal said the issue would probably have received considerable media attention.
The MMA athlete went on to describe how long he had to wait while officials tried to resolve the issue.
“When you get to Nagoya, from the airport they take you on a shuttle... and as soon as you get there, it's total chaos. I go to the counter... and they just cannot find my name anywhere in the system. Like, I'm a total ghost in their system," he said.
“If this happened in India, oh my God, the media would be going crazy, not just in India, but globally. We would’ve been the butt of the joke.
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 17, 2026
- Asian Games Athlete & MMA fighter Varun Sanyal on if the same situation had arisen in India https://t.co/4amYF9h5y4 pic.twitter.com/30JIjHtQN7
Sanyal said that officials spent about two hours trying to find his details. According to his account, about three hours passed by the time he left the facility but his accommodation issue had not been resolved yet.
Athlete eventually gets room on cruise ship
Sanyal was later directed to a cruise ship used as accommodation for athletes during the Asian Games. He was finally given a room, seemingly putting an end to the immediate problem.
But relief did not last very long.
Sanyal said he had been awake for two days and had spent around 10 hours waiting before he finally got a room. He said he managed to sleep for only about 30 minutes before he was woken up by two other Indian athletes.
“Update: After 2 days of being awake and 10 hours of waiting, I was given a room. I fell asleep for a grand total of 30 minutes before being woken up by 2 Indian athletes staring at me confusedly. Turns out, they were assigned this room but are now stranded," Sanyal wrote.
The post added another layer to the accommodation confusion, with three athletes apparently being connected to the same room allocation.
Wider Accommodation Concerns At Asian Games
Sanyal’s account comes against the backdrop of concerns raised by Indian athletes and other participants in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games about arrangements.
Accommodation is especially important at a multi-sport event of this scale, where thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and support staff need to be housed and transported according to detailed schedules.
Errors in accreditation or room allocation can have a huge impact on athletes who are preparing to compete. For competitors, the delay can also affect rest and preparation as they have events that have to be held a couple of hours after arrival.
Sanyal's comments have received a lot of attention as he gives a personal account of the difficulty he says he experienced. But his experience is his experience, and more clarification from organisers or Indian officials would need to establish the broader extent and cause of the accommodation problems.
Sanyal will now be concentrating on his MMA campaign once he has finally found his accommodation. With a bronze in the Asian Championships earlier this year already in hand, the Indian will hope to put the logistics behind him and concentrate on competition at the Asian Games.
