Asian Para Games: Coach row, court battles, clearance delays deepen chaos

File Pic: Shooter Manish Narwal

NEW DELHI: With less than a week to go before the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games starts, India’s preparations have been clouded by selection disputes, coaching omissions and administrative delays, leaving athletes in para shooting, cycling, badminton, table tennis and boccia grappling with uncertainty.On Monday, nine of India’s 13 selected para shooters met Sports Authority of India (SAI) officials and the sport’s project officer at SAI headquarters here, expressing dissatisfaction over the omission of chief coach J P Nautiyal from the contingent. Armourer and assistant coach Shivam Tyagi has also been left out.

The aggrieved shooters urged authorities to reconsider the decision, with some expressing apprehension about competing without Nautiyal.

Among those raising concerns were Manish Narwal, Mona Agarwal, Nihal Singh, Shrishti Arora, Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, Rakesh Nidagundi, Sumedha Pathak and Bhakti Sharma, who have won major international medals under his guidance.Bhakti, a deaf and non-speaking shooter who relies on specialised communication, reportedly broke down during the meeting, while Sumedha expressed doubts about competing without her coach.

Pistol coach Rakesh Singh and support staff member Pavittar accompanied the shooters.The dispute comes as the ministry finally cleared the pending disciplines late on Monday evening, according to sources. The ministry’s push came as para badminton and table tennis contingents were scheduled to leave for Japan on Tuesday evening and there was considerable delay in announcing their final sanctions. With these approvals, the Indian contingent has been cleared across disciplines, barring pending court cases, including that of para cycling.The Oct 10 partial sanction covered eight disciplines and listed 128 athletes — 90 male and 38 female — alongside 91 officials, taking the contingent to 219 members. Badminton, table tennis and boccia were excluded at that stage.The delay also affected kit distribution. Athletes visiting the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) office on Monday afternoon to collect ceremonial and competition kits returned empty-handed as approvals were awaited.

Pramod Bhagat, India’s opening-ceremony flag-bearer, had worn fellow shuttler Sukant Kadam’s ceremonial outfit at the October 8 send-off because his own did not fit.Last-minute clearances have left athletes with little time to correct ill-fitting kits, organise equipment, and prepare for departure. In table tennis, competition begins on Oct 16, following classification checks on Oct 15. Wheelchair players need time to acclimatise and adjust their equipment, while paddlers will have just a day to rest after reaching Nagoya before classification begins.

Despite the final approvals, five badminton names — Chirag Baretha, Manisha Patel, Shashank Kumar, Ammu Beulah Mohan and Rachna Patel — have not been sanctioned, sources said. LY Suhas has been cleared. Kalpesh Thakkar, secretary of the Table Tennis Association of Baroda, has also not been cleared.In para cycling, five qualified athletes have challenged their exclusion in the Delhi High Court under Articles 14 and 21, questioning the decision to retain only one cyclist despite six recommendations. The case will be heard again on Tuesday, with an interim decision expected.