Mongolia’s unplayed match prevented India from winning a historic medal in Asian Games esports

India’s medals at the 2026 Asian Games New Delhi: India’s hopes of a historic esports medal at the Asian Games in Japan suffered a setback after an unplayed eFootball match against Mongolia was recorded as a forfeit, leaving India without the goal difference they needed to stay in the knockout stages.India’s eFootball duo of Chinmay Sahoo and Danial Patel, coached by Saksham Rattan, earlier drew 0-0 against Uzbekistan’s Abubakir Iminjonov and Farrukh Mirkhamitov. With India needing a win in their next Group F match, Mongolians Munkh-Ochir Batmanlai and Khantamir Munkh-Orgil failed to make it to the Call Room on time. India subsequently lost 0-0.Asian Games full coverage | Schedule | Medal totalHowever, Uzbekistan defeated Mongolia 2-0 via console and mobile matches to finish top of Group F. Only the group winner advanced directly to the quarter-finals and India’s campaign, despite the prized win, ended.The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) has raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding the match and subsequent qualification calculations. The federation said India had been denied the opportunity to actually play Mongolia, score goals and improve their goal difference, which it said was important in determining qualification between the teams.According to the ESFI, Uzbekistan were able to take their match against Mongolia and subsequently benefited from the resulting goal difference before eventually claiming the bronze medal. The ESFI has doubts whether not recording any goal difference in India’s lost match created an unequal sporting opportunity.The federation also cited a number of technical and scheduling violations. Matches scheduled for 9:00 a.m. reportedly started only after 11:30 a.m. due to problems with the playing equipment provided by the organizer. The match between Uzbekistan and Mongolia, scheduled for around 15:00, reportedly started at around 17:00 Japan time, which affected the timing of the India-Mongolia clash.The ESFI further claimed that Mongolia was not adequately informed of the required call room reporting time and that its team manager was unable to leave the previous match to complete the reporting process for the next match.The federation said India’s subsequent request for a review by the Olympic Council of Asia, the Esports Organizing Committee and the competition management remained unconfirmed. ESFI also argued that India was not sufficiently clear about which rules were to apply within the stipulated 15-minute deadline for filing a formal protest.India requested clarification on the regulatory basis for no goal difference in forfeited matches, the use of average points and average goal difference for ranking, complete qualification calculations and when the ranking methodology was formally communicated to participating teams.ESFI called for a transparent review, written response and appropriate corrective action, while reaffirming its respect for competition rules and technical officials.India’s 15-member esports contingent competes in four disciplines: eFootball, Puyo Puyo Champions, Pokémon UNITE and League of Legends.