NEW DELHI — The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has today announced a new, more stringent selection policy for the participation of Indian individuals and teams in the upcoming Asian Games 2026, as well as other multi-sport events. The move is aimed at ensuring that only athletes with a “real chance of winning a medal” are selected for the nation’s contingent.
The new five-page document, which has been made public, establishes clear benchmarks for both individual and team sports. For individual athletes, the new policy mandates that they must have either matched or surpassed the 6th-place performance from the previous Asian Games in a recognized international competition within the 12 months leading up to the event. For events not contested at the last Asian Games, a top-six finish at the Senior Asian Championships in the preceding 12 months will be required for eligibility.
For team sports, the criteria is a top-eight finish in the latest Senior Asian Championships within the past year or a ranking within the top eight among Asian countries in the latest international rankings. The ministry has also cautioned against attempts to use low-standard or irregularly-held competitions to meet the criteria, stating that such recommendations will be rejected.
“The aim is to ensure that the athletes who have real chance of winning medal are only considered for participation in multidisciplinary sports events,” the ministry stated, emphasizing a move away from the previous, often-criticized haphazard selection processes.
In a significant departure from past practices, the new guidelines also explicitly state that no additional sportspersons, coaches, or support staff will be included in the contingent, “even at no cost to government.” This directly addresses a recurring issue where athletes or federations would seek to bring along personal staff, often at their own expense, which the government says will no longer be permitted.
The selection criteria will be the guiding principle for a number of major events, including the Asian Games 2026, Para Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Youth Olympics, and Asian Youth Games. However, it will not apply to the Olympics or other international competitions where athlete participation is determined by specific qualification standards set by the respective international federations.
While the policy is a major step towards creating a more transparent and merit-based system, it includes a relaxation clause that allows the Ministry to approve participants who do not meet the criteria, based on the “opinion of experts in specific sports or SAI.”
The strict new framework could pose a challenge for certain teams, such as the Indian football team, which is currently ranked 24th in Asia. The government’s new policy underscores its commitment to building on India’s best-ever Asiad performance at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where the country secured 106 medals, and to focusing on excellence at the international stage. ATP
