3 min readUpdated: Aug 24, 2026 07:42 PM IST
The 492-strong squad for the Asian Games has already been announced. But as is often the case Now, as is usually the case in such matters, athletes who have not made the cut have rallied for a spot in the continental mega event taking place in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. On Monday, the sports ministry made it clear that despite the pressure, they would stick to the selection criteria announced a year ago.
“A lot of pressure was there (on us). Some parents came and said that my child has not been selected. We told them if your child merits selection (fulfils the selection criteria), there is no way that he or she will not be selected,” a sports ministry source told reporters. It was reiterated that only the top six in Asia in any event would be selected and that the Asian Games was not an event for athletes to ‘gain experience’.
“Let’s take an example. If somebody has to run inside 10 seconds to be a contender for a medal in the 100m event, should we send an athlete who runs 15 seconds? We have set the criteria that if an athlete is in the top six in Asia, we will select him or her, otherwise not. We have followed that.”
However, there is still room for additions that could be made subject to approval from the Olympic Council of Asia.
Former doubles tennis player Rohan Bopanna had criticised the decision to omit the names of five players who had not adhered to the Top-8 criteria but were still part of the list that the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had sent to the government.
The exclusion of Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare caused Bopanna to remark on Linkedin: “Now a committee that never stood where they stood has decided their fate on paper, before a ball is struck. If outcomes are already decided, why have qualifications at all? Why rankings?”
But the source at the ministry said that rules needed to be followed.
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“The idea, from the very beginning, was to send a lean contingent. The criteria was announced a year ago, and everyone had the time to figure it out and qualify,” the source said.
Tennis isn’t the only sport that has its prominent names left out by the ministry. Anush Agarwalla was not selected for India’s equestrian squad and approached the Supreme Court for relief – an appeal that was quashed.
