New Delhi: The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) decision to cut the size of the Asian Games contingent has sparked dissatisfaction among several federations.
We have a scenario where CWG medal winners are not in the team, and those who have not won medal are in the team. “They could have at least considered medal winners from the CWG. SAI had raised objections on five wushu athletes, including Ngaimong, a leading wushu athlete who has won two gold medals at the 7th Nordic Open, Stockholm last year and silver medals in women’s Jianshu at Oceania International Championship at Brisbane and at Moscow Wushu Stars, 2026.
Naturally, the CWG medal winners are shattered,” said a judo official.
Several sports, including tennis, rowing, judo, gymnastics, and weightlifting, have had their squads trimmed for the Asian Games. Five athletes have not been cleared. “We have relayed the athletes’ feelings to SAI. It is possible that in open selection trials, the athlete who wins in a particular weight class may not figure in the top-six (criteria).
SAI stuck to the Sports Ministry’s selection criteria of at least top-6 finish at the Asian Championships or previous Asian Games as benchmark for individual athletes. For team sports, the benchmark was set at a top-8. In wushu, for example, a squad of 12 was selected based on trials.
What about athletes who could not participate in the Asian Championships due to injury or any other reason and made a comeback through trials,” said a WAI official.
A Wushu Association of India official said the excluded athletes reached out asking why the trials were held if they were ultimately excluded.
