Para Shooters protest at Asian Games send off ceremony due to selection mess

On October 13, India's Sports Ministry will conduct a thorough review of the country's performance at the 2026 Asian Games, alongside representatives of National Sports Federations. Despite finishing fourth on the medal tally, the same as the previous edition, the overall medal count saw a decline of 21 compared to the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

India secured 85 medals, comprising 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze. The source from the Sports Ministry emphasized, "A lot needs to change. We are investing a lot of money on sports but some questions need to be asked, especially to experienced athletes."

While India's archery contingent, including a historic gold in the women's individual recurve event, performed admirably, other sports like shooting and athletics fell short of expectations from the Hangzhou Games. In badminton, the medal count dwindled from three to one. The Ministry will scrutinize funds disbursed through the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) aimed at elite athletes.

Surprisingly, 89 experienced athletes, who had participated in Asian Games before, couldn't bring home a medal. Of these, 34 athletes from nine sports disciplines were part of the TOPS scheme, with Rs 27.16 crores invested in these athletes.

Nine athletes sustained injuries before and during the Asian Games. Neeraj Chopra and Rishikanta Singh were injured prior to the games, while others were injured in Japan. Regarding the clearance of injured athletes, the Ministry will investigate whether the process was followed correctly, as some athletes were cleared by federations for the Games.

In athletics, Jyothi Yarraji (110m hurdles) did not start, and Praveen Chithravel (triple jump) withdrew on the runway. Varun Sanyal, an MMA fighter, was medically unfit and failed to make weight for the men’s traditional 77kg quarter-final bout.