Sports ministry reviews Asian Games performance; questions injuries, lacklustre show

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha, Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao and NSF representatives.

NEW DELHI: India's sub-par medal haul in disciplines like athletics and badminton came under scrutiny during the Sports Ministry's review of the country's Asian Games performance on Thursday. In a meeting with the National Sports Federations (NSFs), Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya questioned athlete injuries upon reaching Aichi-Nagoya and the lacklustre effort of some high-profile athletes. India finished fourth in the medal tally at the 2026 Asian Games, pulling ahead after a gold-laden show in the last two days. India bagged 85 medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, including 21 golds, significantly lower than the 106 medals it won at the previous edition in Hangzhou, China. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha, Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao and NSF representatives. The Minister also called for greater responsibility from the NSFs on the sporting performance. He reiterated the need to work with further synergy to sustain India’s sporting excellence. Mandaviya stressed that India needs a continuous pipeline of athletes rather than relying on a handful of medal winners. “How long will Mirabai Chanu alone keep winning medals for us? We need to produce 10 more Mirabai Chanus. Every federation must take this responsibility seriously. We have to identify talent, provide the right training and create an environment in which athletes can progress to the highest level,” the Sports Minister said. As TimesofIndia.com had reported last week, injuries to athletes like hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and triple jumper Praveen Chithravel were brought to attention during the meet. The topic was raised by PT Usha when Athletics Federation of India (AFI) advisor Adille Sumariwalla presented his performance analysis. However, the topic wasn't elaborated on further, with the objective being an overall look at the performance rather than isolated cases. Runner Avinash Sable's fitness came under scrutiny after he failed to start the 5000m, having finished fourth in his pet event, the 3000m steeplechase. He was the defending champion in the steeplechase and had won 5000m silver in Hangzhou. Overall, athletics' gold count fell from six to one this time, while the discipline's total haul of 24 medals was five fewer than at the previous Games. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), basking in a landmark performance that included an unprecedented three golds, promised more if given "continued institutional support." The organisation's current power struggle between President Ajay Singh and Secretary Pramod Kumar, who have suspended each other over multiple alleged violations, was not discussed. Besides athletics and shooting, badminton has come under scrutiny after producing just one men's team bronze. A major disappointment was defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashing out in the first round — a result partly blamed on hectic scheduling that forced players into more than one match within 24 hours.

Focus on LA 2028

Beyond Asian Games 2026, the platform was also used to assess preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2030 Asian Games in Doha. As a path forward, Mandaviya emphasised the need for more sports psychologists, sports science experts and high-performance mental trainers to mitigate the loss of focus that athletes go through when competing on major international stages. He also urged every NSF to introduce more competitions, strengthen athlete preparation, work with dedicated commitment, as well as carry out honest assessment of gaps in performance and administration.

Secretary (Sports) Shri Hari Ranjan Rao mentioned that India must aim to finish among the top three at the 2030 Asian Games in Doha, while the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which India is scheduled to host, should be treated as a major national challenge. “We have to strive to finish third at the Asian Games in Doha. For the 2030 Commonwealth Games, we must break our own record from the 2010 Commonwealth Games and finish among the top three. Since we are hosting the Games, every NSF must take the competition seriously and prepare accordingly. We must treat this as a challenge and work towards it from now,” he said.