Sports Ministry Reviews India Fourth Place Finish at Asian Games 2026

The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, met the heads of the National Sports Federations in New Delhi on 15 October 2026 to go over how India had fared at the 2026 Asian Games, where the country ended in fourth place. He told the federations that the responsibility for results rests with them and that they must work in closer step with one another.

A pipeline, not a handful of stars

The Minister argued that the country cannot keep depending on a small group of proven medallists. Asking how long Mirabai Chanu alone would go on winning for India, he said ten more athletes of that calibre had to be produced, and that every federation must take the job of finding talent, training it properly and building an atmosphere in which an athlete can climb to the top seriously.

He also pressed for many more sports psychologists, sports science specialists and high performance mental trainers, since athletes often lose focus on the biggest international stages. Federations were asked to put on more competitions, sharpen preparation and make an honest audit of where their performance and their administration fall short.

Looking ahead to three big events

The conclave doubled as a check on preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2030 Asian Games in Doha. Representatives of all the major federations attended, among them shooting, athletics, boxing, archery, squash and wushu.

Who said what

• Vineel Krishna, Joint Secretary for Khelo India, presented a discussion on bringing the Khelo India Scheme and the federations together
• Colonel N. S. Johal, Chief Executive of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, reviewed the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the build-up to the Los Angeles Olympics
• The revised booklet of guidelines for Assistance to National Sports Federations was released at the meeting
• Minister of State Smt Raksha Khadse asked every federation to align itself with the Khelo India Mission and to make sure state and district units actually function

The target for Doha

The Secretary for Sports, Shri Hari Ranjan Rao, said India must aim to finish among the top three at the Asian Games in Doha. He added that the Commonwealth Games of 2030, which India is to host, should be treated as a national challenge, and that the country must better its own showing from the 2010 Commonwealth Games and again finish in the top three. He had earlier likened the sporting system to a vehicle on four tyres that moves only when athletes, coaches, the federations and the Ministry along with the Sports Authority of India all pull together.