India’s badminton star PV Sindhu faced a grueling schedule at this year’s Asian Games in Japan, playing three matches within 18 hours. After her third-round match ended past midnight, she returned to compete against Chen Yufei in the quarter-finals, expressing frustration over the lack of recovery time. “The scheduling was not really well organised,” she stated, highlighting the importance of recovery for athletes.

In another incident, Pakistan’s volleyball team experienced confusion when their bus took them to the wrong gymnasium, forcing them to change on the bus. Captain Murad Jehan voiced his embarrassment in a video, stating, “We did not expect this from Japan.” Other teams, including South Korea’s basketball squad, encountered similar issues, missing scheduled practices due to transportation failures.

Zhang Boheng, a Chinese gymnast, described his arrival in Japan as exhausting, with delays preventing him from eating for nearly 12 hours. Concerns about biased scheduling arose, as athletes noted preferential treatment for the Japanese team. Tan Ning, a Chinese badminton medalist, claimed, “I feel the schedule is unfair,” after witnessing changes made following complaints from the Japanese team.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) issued an apology for the organizational flaws, acknowledging human errors and communication breakdowns. Unlike previous events, this edition lacks a traditional athletes' village, housing competitors across various locations, which has led to accommodation issues.

Further complications arose with national anthems and accreditation errors, causing frustration among athletes. India’s chef de mission, Sahdev Yadav, noted that delays affected athletes' performance.

Heavy rain disrupted multiple events, leading to the cancellation of matches, particularly frustrating for teams like Afghanistan, which had already faced similar issues in previous games.

The Olympic Council of Asia defended the decision not to build an athletes' village, citing cost concerns and potential waste. However, experts are questioning Japan's ability to host major events without relying on one dominant agency, Dentsu, which has been embroiled in scandals. Shunya Hamada, a marketing professor, emphasized the need for diverse expertise in event organization to avoid future mishaps.