India will name a 35-strong contingent (19 men and 16 women) for the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin after snubbing athletes from snowboarding (4), ski mountaineering (8) and men’s ice hockey team (23).
The decision to axe the disciplines was taken by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) as a number of athletes did not meet the criteria.
“On examination of Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) proposal by Sports Authority of India (SAI), it has been found that many of the names recommended by IOA do not have any international exposure or have international rankings/performances,” the letter from the Union Sports Ministry to the IOA read.
“It may be noted that participation of sportspersons in multi-sport events is not for providing international exposure or merely for participation purposes,” the letter added.
Most players from the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams belong from the Ladakh region. Only two out of 20 combined players belong from outside the Union Territory.
“We felt helpless. It felt like your body part was being taken away,” a member of the Indian men’s team tells Sportstar on the condition of anonymity. He was also part of the last India squad that played an official ice hockey match over six years ago.
“It will definitely be a huge disappointment for us – who may or may not be going – but also for the entire region, the way people here have taken the sport to their heart. Even local governments are putting money into it,” another India international adds.
The India men’s football team, ranked 18th in Asia, were knocked out in the Round of 16 at the Hangzhou Summer Games in 2023.
The Indian men’s lawn bowls team, meanwhile, won a gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games while the women’s team cliched the silver.
Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games: India Men’s Probable Roster
Tsewang Gyaltson Gyal, Nawang Zangpo, Rigzin Norboo, Ghulam Mustafa, Sajjad Hussain, Tsering Angchuk, Stanzin Namgyal, Deskyong Namgyal, Chamba Tsetan, Jigmanth Kunzang, Tsewang Dorjay, Tsering Angdus, Stanzin Lotus, Stanzin Angchok, Mohd. Ismail, Lakdan Angchok, Tashi Namgail, Mohammad Ali Baba, Dorjay Angchok, Deldan Namgyal, Chamba Lotus, Tundup Namgail, Stanzin Phandey.
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