Indian shooting coach flags long commutes, transport delays ahead of Asian Games

The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that houses up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, seen in Tokyo, Japan. File | Photo Credit: AP A senior coach accompanying India’s 30-member shooting contingent at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has expressed disappointment with the arrangements ahead of the competition, particularly the long travel times involved in getting the shooters to and from the training-cum-competition venue.The coach said he had arrived in Japan with a certain level of expectation but felt the arrangements had not quite matched the image he had of the country, with the Indian shooters housed around 50 km from the range and in different hotels.For a contingent featuring several of India’s leading medal hopefuls, including double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker and multiple Asian Games medallist Esha Singh, the commute has meant early starts and long hours on the road to adhere to training schedules.“This [transportation] is a real problem. I didn’t see any hotels in the vicinity of the shooting range. If there were, we would have reached early. They gave us accommodation at a place which was far, so now what can we do about it?” the coach, who has been to multiple Asian and Commonwealth Games as a player, said on condition of anonymity.He said the issue had been flagged to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) though he had not personally discussed it with its officials in recent days.“I presume the federation [NRAI] would have told them [Asian Games organisers]. I haven’t spoken to the federation about it, but we had informed the federation about this issue and this discussion had been ongoing," he said.The coach, however, acknowledged that long commutes are not entirely unusual in shooting, with ranges often located away from major population centres.“In China [2022 Hangzhou Asian Games] also, it used to take one hour to reach the range. So it has now become a part of shooting,” he said.“But having said all that, Japan being Japan, I am a bit disappointed with the arrangements. It could have been better.” The transport situation came into sharper focus on Thursday (September 17, 2026) when buses ferrying the shooters to the range were delayed. The shooters are spread across three or four hotels, all relatively close to one another, but have to assemble at one hotel for breakfast before taking the buses to the venue.“Today there was a lot of issue with the buses, perhaps because of a shortage of buses or something. The bus scheduled to depart at 8:40 a.m. left after 9 a.m., and the one scheduled for 9:40 left at 10:30 a.m.,” he said.Training itself was not disrupted, he added, but the shooters had to adjust their schedules accordingly.“From an organisation point of view, it was disappointing, but maybe tomorrow could be a different story,” he said.The daily routine has also demanded considerable discipline from the shooters. With the journey to the venue sometimes taking close to two hours each way, some have had to wake up as early as 5 a.m., finish breakfast before 6:30 a.m. and then begin the long commute.The coach said there had been some complaints among the shooters, but the team had little choice but to adapt.“They [organisers] could be trying their best, but the image we have of Japan has been blemished somewhat,” he said.“At the same time, we have to come to terms with what we have. Either we can crib or take it in our stride and say, ‘Let’s focus on what we can do because we cannot do anything about transportation’.” The coach also spoke about India’s choice of accommodation in the context of the more unusual arrangement being used for several thousand athletes, who are being housed on the cruise ship Costa Serena.He said he would personally prefer the certainty of a hotel room, particularly for shooters who need to maintain a strict routine in the build-up to competition."I would not prefer a cruise. I would prefer a bed on land,” he said, pointing out that athletes unfamiliar with life on a ship could potentially face issues such as seasickness. Published - September 17, 2026 03:50 pm IST