SAI orders Federations to hold back Asiad team announcements

New Delhi: As India moves to finalise its contingent for the Asian Games, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has quietly directed national sports federations (NSFs) not to announce selected teams on their websites or social media platforms until govt approval is granted.

SAI has asked Senior Development Officers (SDOs) to convey the message to respective federations.“All SDOs to please convey to their respective NSF president/secretary general/CEO to refrain from putting messages regarding announcement of selection of Asian Games team on their portal or social media handles. We will inform everyone about selected team once it is approved by govt,” the communication stated.

The directive is believed to be linked to recent selection issues. Star paddler Manika Batra publicly criticised selectors after being named only a reserve in the Asiad squad, while Olympian Anush Agarwalla questioned the process through which the equestrian team was finalised after his omission.Most federations had already completed selections, forwarded names to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and announced squads online. Following the recent communication, several NSFs have begun taking down those posts.