22 names added to India's Asian Games contingent, Modern Pentathlon debut awaits

A total of 22 more athletes were cleared by the Union Sports Ministry on Wednesday included to represent India at the 2023 Asian Games. India's total contingent has now increased to 655 athletes.

India are set to have representation in Modern Pentathlon at the Asiad for the first time ever with the inclusion of Mayank Vaibhav Chapheker. Mayank, who had earlier moved Punjab and Haryana High Court after being left out of the contingent, meets the government's requirement of having been in Asia's top 8 in the previous year. Modern Pentathlon is an Olympic sport and the Asian Games are also a qualifier for the Paris Olympics.

The bulk of the additions were made in martial sports. Five new athletes were added in jiu-jitsu and four new athletes were added in kurash.

Sprinter Amlan Borgohain was the only new name in the Athletics team. He had failed to meet the Asiad qualifying cut-off before the stipulated date, but his performances at the World University Games was considered to get him in.

In another major development, skeet shooters Angad Veer Bajwa, Manisha Keer and Preeti Rajak were all given the nod.

A four-member men’s pursuit team in Cycling was the other addition.

There have been a few replacement players named in a few other team sports, while the men's football squad has been cut by one. Pooja Vastrakar will replaced Anjana Sarvani in the women's cricket team. There were as many as five replacements in the men's basketball team, including Princepal Singh.

Also, as reported earlier, Jhanvi Choudhary will replace the teenaged swimmer who tested positive for doping, while Suraj Yadav will replace Owais Sarwar, who also failed a dope test in wushu. The AFI also earlier dropped injured men's 20km race walk national record holder Akshdeep Singh and replaced him with Vikash Singh.