Sports Ministry Cracks Down on Federations: 'No Freeloaders' For Asian Games And Commonwealth Games
As India finalises its squads for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, the message to national federations is blunt- they should not pick an inflated contingent, not do discretionary selections, basically they do not want passengers any more.
The Sports Ministry has read the riot act to federations ahead of the two big multi-sport event this year. As India finalises its squads for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, the message to national federations is blunt- they should not pick an inflated contingent, not do discretionary selections, basically they do not want passengers any more. India is expected to send around 126 athletes to Glasgow and close to 600 to Japan. Tuesday marked the deadline for submitting entries for the Asian Games, but the final list is not being left entirely in the hands of the federations or the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Every selection is being vetted by the Ministry, before receiving the green light.
The focus, Ministry officials insist, is simple - "we shall send athletes capable of winning medals."
"While the selections are being done on camera, the team is being vetted by the Ministry before being put up on the Indian Olympic Association notice board. We want the real medal winners to get the opportunity to represent India at the Games," a Sports Ministry source said on Thursday.
Behind the tighter scrutiny lies a long-standing frustration with how teams have been picked in the past.
According to Ministry sources, several federations had developed a habit of padding contingents with athletes who had little chance of competing for medals.
"A lot of people were selected by the federations to grant them undue favours like jobs. We are curbing that this time," the source said.
Now there will be a crackdown on this practice.
Sources say only one to six athletes per discipline will make the final cut, depending on qualification norms and medal prospects. It is a significant shift from Hangzhou 2023, where India fielded a 655-member contingent across 41 disciplines. This year, India is expected to compete in 40 sports with a leaner delegation.
The Ministry's intervention isn't limited to numbers.
It has also stepped into the controversy surrounding Olympian Anush Agarwalla's omission from the dressage squad, questioning the selection process followed by the Equestrian Federation of India.
Officials believe personal differences may have influenced the outcome.
"The person who was on the selection committee had a falling out with Agarwalla. Personal bias entered the selection process, which is completely unacceptable," another Ministry source said.
The dispute centres on whether Agarwalla's scores at CDI Hagen in Germany and CDI Lier in Belgium should have been included while preparing the final order of merit. The matter reached court.
Sports Ministry has now intervened, with officials meeting Agarwalla's father and assuring the family that the selection process will be reviewed fairly and strictly on merit.
The government's intervention sends a message far beyond one equestrian dispute.
For years, athletes have complained that selections did not merely happen on performance but politics played its part too. Favouritism, lobbying and internal rivalries have repeatedly cast a shadow over Indian sport.
It also puts the spotlight on the Indian Olympic Association. As the body responsible for forwarding India's final entries, the IOA has often escaped scrutiny while questionable selections passed through unchecked.
This time, the government is making it clear that federations will not have the final word.
Selection meetings are under watch. Contingents are being trimmed. Decisions are being questioned.
And the message from GoI could not be clearer- no freeloaders will be entertained anymore.