Selection Controversy Clouds India’s Asian Games Squads Amid Governance Concerns
NEW DELHI: As India gears up for the upcoming Asian Games, the national contingent is facing mounting pressure—not from the competition, but from within. A wave of scrutiny has emerged regarding the selection criteria across several disciplines, with stakeholders raising serious questions about the consistency and transparency of the processes involving gymnastics, kurash, and karate.
The controversy highlights broader concerns regarding the selection protocols employed by sporting authorities, with critics pointing to conflicting standards and potential favoritism.
Gymnastics: Consistency Under Fire
In the gymnastics squad, Pranati Nayak has been the only athlete cleared for competition, leaving many to question why other qualified gymnasts were excluded. Both Nishka Agarwal and Protistha Samanta had secured nominative quotas from the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU) following the 2026 Asian Championships.
While authorities cited a qualification window that rendered the 2026 results ineligible, the usage of 2025 Asian Championship data as a benchmark has only deepened the confusion. At that event, Pranati secured a bronze medal, while Protistha finished a respectable fourth.
“The question is whether the framework was applied consistently,” noted sources within the federation. “If the 2025 event was the barometer, then athletes like Protistha, Nishka, and men’s gymnasts Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh certainly deserved consideration.” Protistha, in particular, remains a focal point for critics, having delivered India’s standout performance at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she was the only Indian gymnast to reach a final.
Questions in Kurash and Karate
The selection landscape for other disciplines is equally murky. Despite returning from the Hangzhou Games without a single medal, a six-member kurash team has been approved for the Asian Games—a direct reversal of an earlier decision by authorities not to send a squad at all. With no clear performance benchmarks cited for this pivot, observers are calling for greater transparency.
The situation in karate is arguably more contentious. Despite an initial decision by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to exclude the sport due to administrative issues, athletes Alisha Choudhary and Chetan Bhatt have been named to the team. This comes at a time when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has barred the Karate India Organisation (KIO) from functioning as a National Sports Federation (NSF) due to unauthorized selection practices and various governance violations.
Equestrian Dispute Escalates
Beyond athlete selection, administrative hurdles are also plaguing individual competitors. Dressage rider Shruti Vora has formally appealed to IOA president PT Usha, seeking urgent intervention to secure essential horse-owner accreditation. Vora has laid the blame for the potential oversight squarely at the feet of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), signaling ongoing friction between athletes and the governing bodies meant to support them.
As the Asian Games approach, these mounting controversies highlight a critical need for standardized, transparent, and fair selection policies to ensure that India’s representatives are chosen based on merit rather than administrative opacity.
