India’s Asian Games gymnastics team trials suffer heavy blow More sports news
NEW DELHI: The Indian gymnastics team is embroiled in a controversy over the selection of the women’s artistic team when it competes in the Asian Games in Nagoya, Ai from September 19 to October 4, due to differences between sports authorities and the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) over the qualifying list. At a meeting involving the country’s sports authorities, officials argued that Pranati Nayak and Protisha Samantha’s qualifications were based on their performances at last year’s Asian Championships in South Korea and that the most recent continental tournament – held in China from June 25 to 28 – was outside the selection window that ended on June 20. However, documents obtained by TOI show that the Asian Gymnastics Union (AGU) confirmed the nominations, with Pranati getting the vault and Nishika Agarwal getting 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. Therefore, Nishika’s participation cannot be replaced, while Protista can only participate in the competition if Pranati withdraws from the vault competition. In the men’s category, the entries of Yogeshwar Singh and Tapan Mohanti received full recognition from the AGU.GFI officials said the federation has forwarded the names of Pranati, Nishka, Yogeshwar and Tapan to the IOA and SAI but is awaiting official approval before making further comments. “We would like to inform you that the GFI has communicated the recommended lineup for the Asian Games to the IOA and SAI for their consideration. However, we are yet to receive any formal confirmation or approval from the relevant authorities,” GFI said.
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