The Ministry of Sports will review injury information as part of the Asian Games performance evaluation

The Sports Ministry will assess India’s performance at the recently concluded Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in a one-day meeting with national sports federations on October 13, with stunning performances in badminton, shooting and some sections of athletics expected to come under the scanner. The ministry will also review injury concerns raised after athletes have arrived at the Games.

India finished fourth overall medal standings with 85 medals (21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze) at the Games, which ended on October 4. It was India’s second-highest medal tally at the Asian Games, but far behind the record 106 won in Hangzhou in 2023.

“Some of the veteran athletes were clearly in their comfort zone and that reflected in their performance. National federations will be involved and a meeting is likely in the next few days, probably on October 13 or 14,” a sports ministry source said on Thursday.

“Another problem was injuries. Players reported injuries after arriving at the games, which is fair. Millions of crowns were spent on their preparation,” he said.

WHO WAS INJURED?

Several prominent Indian athletes were ruled out of the Games or entered the event with injury concerns. Two-time Olympic medalist in javelin Neeraj Chopra missed the games after tearing a ligament in his ankle in training after the Lausanne Diamond League.

Chanambam weightlifter Rishikanta Singh, India’s only weightlifter, withdrew with a knee injury. In athletics, Tejas Shirse and Shahnawaz Khan were ruled out with injuries, while Jyothi Yarraji and Praveen Chithravel were cleared despite having nipples. Tennis player Yuki Bhambri also entered the Games with thigh injury concerns.

The meeting is also expected to review the allocation and release of funds under the government’s flagship Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS). The sports ministry said before the games that more than 700 crore rupees were spent on the preparation of the Indian contingent over the three-year cycle.

BADMINTON DISAPPOINTMENT

Badminton is likely to be one of the biggest areas of interest. India returned with a single medal, a bronze in the men’s team event, and failed to win an individual medal for the first time in 12 years.

Defending men’s doubles champions Satwiksaraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered the biggest setback as they lost to Thais Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun in the opening round. The fourth-seeded Indians won the first game 21-12, but dropped the next two 19-21, 14-21 and retired after 68 minutes.

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu was India’s last individual hope but lost to China’s Chen Yufei in the quarterfinals. Sindhu won the opening game 21-11 before the Tokyo Olympic champion cruised to an 18-21, 10-21 victory. Unnati Hooda was also eliminated in the round of 16, while Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto suffered quarter-final defeats.

SHOOTING SEES MIXED RESULTS

The shooting also produced a mixed campaign. India ended up winning 15 medals (three gold, eight silver and four bronze), but this was a significant drop from the 22 medals, including seven gold, won in Hangzhou.

Another topic will be the performance of Manu Bhaker. The two-time Olympic medalist finished fifth in the women’s 10m air pistol final after qualifying third and scored 181.1 in the final. After four competitions, she returned from the games without a medal.

There were also positives, especially in the shotgun. Neeru Dhanda won gold in women’s trap while Dhanda and Kynan Chenai combined for gold in mixed trap. However, pistol events, including those involving Indian household names, generated less revenue than expected.

ATHLETICS KEEP MEDAL RUN, BUT GOLD COUNT FALLS

Athletics remained India’s biggest contributor, producing 24 medals (one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze). However, gold counts dropped dramatically from six in Hangzhou to just one in Aichi-Nagoya.

India’s only athletics gold came in the women’s 4x400m relay, where Kiran Pahal, MR Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:29.69. Another standout was Gulveer Singh who won three medals in the 1500m, 5000m and 10000m, while Sawan Berwal won silver in the marathon and Sarvesh Kushare won bronze in the high jump.

So the October 13 review is expected to go beyond the medal tally to examine preparation, injury management, athlete selection and the effectiveness of TOPS support. With the Los Angeles Olympics less than two years away, the meet will also offer an opportunity to identify areas that need fixing ahead of India’s next major international targets.

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