Asian Games: Several Indian athletes await ceremonial kits, Tajinderpal Singh Toor episode raises questions

NAGOYA/NEW DELHI: If the first controversy involving the Indian contingent at the Asian Games was expected to take time to surface, it did not. It came less than 24 hours before the opening ceremony.In a last-minute change in Nagoya on Friday night, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) replaced defending shot put champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor with kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat as the Indian flagbearer alongside Manu Bhaker for Saturday’s opening ceremony.The dramatic turn of events unfolded after Toor, who had earlier spoken of his pride at being named flagbearer, realised that he did not have the ceremonial kit required for the opening and closing ceremonies.All athletes are provided the ceremonial kit as part of their Games kit, irrespective of whether they attend the opening ceremony. So what went wrong?TOI understands that prior to departure for the Games, Toor had received a ceremonial kit in the wrong size, which was sent back for alteration. The altered kit, however, did not reach him before his departure.Toor trained at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala before joining the track and field contingent in New Delhi for the official send-off and Indian Athletics Finals Series on September 10. He then travelled to the University of Tsukuba for the pre-Games training camp.Sources said the issue came to a head on Friday night, with the ceremonial kit still unavailable in Nagoya. Toor was quoted as saying he had informed the IOA that he would be unable to attend the ceremony as the kit was not expected to reach him before 3pm on Saturday — three hours before the ceremony.The IOA initially attributed the replacement to “technical” reasons. Toor was also initially said to have forgotten to carry his ceremonial kit, a version that he subsequently disputed.“Looks like he has been told to say that he forgot to carry his kit in India when he had received none,” a source alleged.It has since emerged that the issue was more complicated, with several athletes yet to receive their ceremonial kits.“There was miscommunication between the athlete, AFI and IOA on the issue. If the athlete is carrying with him his playing and training kits from India, he should also pack the ceremonial kit,” a source said.Sources said the IOA contingent staff in Aichi-Nagoya should have checked with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) whether its athletes had received their ceremonial kits before announcing Toor’s name. Likewise, the AFI should have confirmed with the athlete before forwarding his name.The issue was compounded by the fact that more than 100 Indian athletes were reportedly yet to receive their ceremonial kits. With the contingent expanding and last-minute requirements having to be met from the available stock, officials were racing against time.Toor, who is set to defend his shot put title, eventually took responsibility publicly for the episode. But the last-minute replacement exposed a communication gap between the athlete, federation and IOA — and raised questions over the coordination.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.