Indian gymnast and coach allotted same room at 2026 Asian Games accommodation as mismanagement continues

Dubai: Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak and her coach Ashok Mishra faced a late-night accommodation mix-up at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, after they were mistakenly assigned the same room aboard a cruise ship housing members of the Indian contingent.

The error raised concerns over the mixed-gender accommodation, with the issue eventually escalated to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Separate accommodation for Nayak and Mishra was arranged at around 1:30am on Thursday.

However, the confusion did not end there. When Mishra went to collect the keys to his new room, hotel staff could not find his booking in the register.

According to NDTV, the problem arrived from a clerical error in the official records, where the letter ‘I’ had been omitted from his name.

The mistake required his accreditation and booking details to be verified and corrected. The process reportedly took another 45 minutes, leaving Mishra to settle into his room well after 2am.

Nayak later confirmed the accommodation mix-up to NDTV, saying: “Yes, there was a mix-up during the accommodation. It was resolved around 2:00 am.”

The gymnast, who is India’s lone representative in the gymnastics competition at the Games, was reportedly not affected physically by the disruption and remains focused on her event.

Nayak’s qualification events are scheduled to begin on September 19, when she will start her campaign at the continental showpiece in Japan.

The incident is among the several issues faced by the Indian athletes at the Asian Games. Several athletes were stranded after arriving to Nagoya, including competitors from Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand.

Nevertheless, all focus now heads to the upcoming competitions as Asian Games.