The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is mulling at downsizing the Asian Games by doing away with certain team sports and some non-Olympic sports. This move aims to streamline participation and address the concerns of host nations struggling with the sheer volume of competitors.

Growing logistical challenges posed by the ever-increasing number of athletes at the Asian Games have led the OCA to make significant overhaul of the event’s qualification criteria. In this regard, it has been learnt that the OCA has already spoken to the Asian Football Confederation to reduce the number of teams for the 2026 Asiad.

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Ahead of the upcoming OCA General Assembly, Deputy Director General Vinod Tiwari outlined the council’s plans to introduce a qualification system for the Asian Games. The proposed system would ensure that only teams meeting specific criteria would qualify for the continental sporting extravaganza.

“The Asian Games have become increasingly unmanageable due to the large number of athletes participating. As we look ahead to the 2026 Games in Japan, which will be hosted in Nagoya, managing such a vast number of participants could become impossible,” Tiwari explained during a recent media interaction.

More than 15,000 athletes reportedly competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year with team competitions accounting for a major chunk. The recently-concluded Paris Olympics witnessed participation from about 10,500 athletes.

“The challenge is that when there is no qualification system, every country sends their teams, which can overwhelm the host nation. By implementing a qualification system, we aim to make the Games more manageable and sustainable for future hosts,” he explained.

In such a scenario, India could also be impacted. The Indian men’s and women’s football teams were granted special entry into the Hangzhou Asian Games after appeals from the Indian Olympic Association and the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), despite their rankings being below the top eight at the time. If the new qualification criteria are strictly enforced, India might face challenges in securing spots in certain disciplines.

Tiwari, however, said that the OCA is likely to keep a room for special requests from participating nations despite prioritising the qualification system.

“If there are special requests from countries, including India, we will certainly consider them. However, the primary focus will be on implementing a fair and manageable qualification process,” he said.