The selection series will hit the Indian gymnastics team for the Asian Games

Pranati Nayak (file photo) New Delhi: The Indian gymnastics team for the September 19-October 4 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya is embroiled in a selection dispute over the women’s artistic team after the sports authorities and the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) disagreed over the eligible names. During a meeting involving the country’s sports governing bodies, officials claimed that Pranati Nayak and Protistha Samanta qualified based on their performances at last year’s Asian Championships in South Korea, as the last continental meet – held in China from June 25 to 28 – did not fall within the selection window ending on June 20. However, documents accessed by TOI show that the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU) has confirmed the nomination entries on behalf, with Pranati qualifying in the vault and Nishka Agarwal securing the direct all-around quota. The AGU said these quotas belong to the athletes and cannot be replaced unless the gymnast withdraws due to injury or personal reasons. As a result, Nishka’s contribution cannot be replaced, while Protistha can only compete if Pranati withdraws from the vault tournament. In the men’s event, the entries of Yogeshwar Singh and Tapan Mohanti were approved by the AGU in the all-around.A GFI official said the federation has already forwarded the names of Pranati, Nishka, Yogeshwar and Tapan to the IOA and SAI but is awaiting official approval before commenting further. “We would like to inform you that the GFI has already announced its recommended squad composition for the Asian Games to the IOA and SAI for consideration. However, we are yet to receive any official confirmation or approval from the relevant authorities,” the GFI said.