Sports Ministry top brass to skip Asian Games, focus on BRICS Games

Source: Times of India | Original Published At: 2026-09-30 07:20:00 UTC

Key Points

• India's Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao and other senior Sports Ministry officials cancelled plans to travel to Aichi-Nagoya for the Asian Games.
• The officials will remain in India to oversee the BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games scheduled for October 12-13 in Ahmedabad.
• A sports ministry source said the decision was taken to monitor preparations for the BRICS Games and denied that it was due to India's performance at the Asian Games.
• The BRICS Games are being coordinated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Gujarat government.
• Around 2,000 athletes, officials and participants from nine countries, including China, Russia, Iran and Bolivia, are expected to attend the non-competitive tournament.
• The event will showcase traditional and indigenous sports and cultural practices from BRICS nations.
• India considers successful hosting of the BRICS Games important for its image as a sporting nation ahead of future mega-event hosting and bidding ambitions.