Costa Serena hosts Asian Games athletes in Nagoya

Costa Serena is serving as the offshore athletes’ village for the Asian Games in Nagoya. The ship is docked at Kinjo Pier in the Port of Nagoya, roughly 30 kilometres from the table tennis venue at Sky Hall Toyota. The one-way journey takes more than an hour, creating a round trip of nearly three hours.

Chinese table tennis players said the accommodation offered a different experience from a hotel. Wang Chuqin described it as his first time living aboard a ship and said the large, docked vessel had little movement. Sun Yingsha also said it was her first cruise-ship stay and reported limited swaying. Wang Manyu initially found the ship’s layout winding and disorienting, but expected navigation to become easier with familiarity.

Japanese media reports said some male and female athletes were initially allocated to the same rooms, prompting the Japanese delegation to revise assignments and arrange emergency hotel accommodation. Hisashi Mizutori, deputy head of the delegation, said allocations based on overall head count led to mixed-sex placements, coaches sharing with athletes, and physiotherapists sharing rooms despite requiring space for medical equipment.

The Chinese national table tennis team was also reportedly held at an airport transit centre for almost six hours before reaching the ship. The delay was attributed to problems with the organizing committee’s registration and transport-dispatch systems, which prevented the team from boarding shuttle buses.