Sports Ministry top brass to skip Asian Games, focus on BRICS Games | Asian Games 2026 News
NEW DELHI: The higher-ranking Sports Ministry officials, including Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, have cancelled their plans to travel to Aichi-Nagoya for the ongoing Asian Games. It has been reliably learnt that the top brass will remain in the country to oversee the BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games on October 12-13 in Ahmedabad.Rao, who was scheduled to fly out to Japan on September 28, altered his plans keeping the importance of the BRICS Games in mind. An official from the sports ministry denied reports that the move came because of India’s underwhelming show in Japan.“Secretary Sports (Rao), being the senior-most officer of the Ministry decided to monitor the preparation of the Games, given the time left for the Games to begin, which would have been difficult to do from Japan. Therefore, he has cancelled his trip to the Asian Games,” a source told TimesofIndia.com.It has also been learnt that the Sports Ministry had always intended to keep the officials contingent limited as part of an austerity drive. With the closing ceremony scheduled for October 4, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Col. NS Johal is one of the highest-ranking officials available in Aichi-Nagoya.Organisation of the BRICS Games is being coordinated between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Gujarat government. Around 2,000 athletes, officials and other participants from nine countries, including China, Russia, Iran, Bolivia, are due to attend the non-competitive tournament. The focus of the Games will be on showcasing traditional and indigenous sports and cultural practices from BRICS nations.With India due to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, both in Ahmedabad, successful hosting of the BRICS Games has been considered as critical for the country’s image as a sporting nation.
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