Asian Para Games Hit by Repeated Anthem Errors

On Monday, October 19, 2026, the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan, experienced three separate incidents where incorrect national anthems were played during medal ceremonies and before a match[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa publicly apologized for the repeated errors on Wednesday, October 21, attributing the mistakes to "incorrect settings in the music playback software"[3][4][6][8][9][10].

These repeated technical and organizational failures at a major international sporting event, especially after similar incidents at the preceding Asian Games, could affect the integrity of the competition and the reputation of event management in the region.

What the records show

The first error on October 19 occurred during the women's para taekwondo medal ceremony[3][4][6][9]. The Iranian national anthem was mistakenly played instead of the Mongolian anthem for a gold medalist[1][3][4][6][8][9][10][11]. Organizers stopped the incorrect anthem midway through and then played the correct Mongolian national anthem[3][4][6][9]. Later that same day, during the men's para taekwondo medal ceremony, the Iranian national anthem was again mistakenly played in its entirety, this time for a Taiwanese gold medalist[1][3][4][6][8][9][10][11]. The organizing committee acknowledged this mistake, and the medal ceremony for the Taiwanese athlete was rescheduled for Wednesday, October 21, to correct it[3][4][6][9]. The third incident on October 19 happened before a women's sitting volleyball match between China and Iran[3][4][6][9][11][12]. The South Korean national anthem began playing instead of China's, but the music was stopped and replaced with the correct Chinese national anthem[3][4][6][9]. The organizing committee cited "incorrect settings in the music playback software" as the cause for these errors[3][4][6][8][9][10].

The timeline

On September 18, 2026, a similar incident occurred at the Asian Games, also held in Japan's Aichi Prefecture, when the North Korean national anthem was played instead of South Korea's before a men's hockey match[3][4][5][6][10][11]. The three anthem blunders at the Asian Para Games took place on Monday, October 19, 2026[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who is the acting head of the Asian Para Games organizing committee, issued his public apology for these errors on Wednesday, October 21, 2026[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].

What changed and for whom

The Mongolian gold medalist received the correct national anthem after an initial error was rectified mid-ceremony[3][4][6][9]. The Taiwanese gold medalist had their medal ceremony scheduled to be re-held on Wednesday, October 21, to ensure the correct anthem was played[3][4][6][9]. The Chinese women's sitting volleyball team had their national anthem played correctly after an initial error was quickly stopped[3][4][6][9]. These incidents affected the experience of athletes celebrating their achievements and the start of a competitive match.

What the subject has said publicly

Mayor Hirosawa expressed regret during a press conference on October 21, stating, “We are sorry that such issues happened again”[4][5][6]. He further emphasized the unacceptability of the recurrence, noting, “These things happened during the Asian Games, so of course the operations were reviewed and examined based on the lessons learned. The fact that it happened again is really just unacceptable”[5][6]. Hirosawa extended his apologies to the affected athletes and officials[6].

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the specific details of the operational review conducted after the previous Asian Games anthem error, nor the exact changes that were implemented to prevent such recurrences. We also could not confirm whether any specific individuals or teams were held accountable for the errors.