NOC, MoYS send separate sport entries for 2026 Asian Games

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) have submitted separate lists of sports entries for the 2026 Asian Games, sending Nepal’s participation in the games, held every four years, into uncertainty.

Organizing a press statement on Tuesday, the NOC said it sent a list of 30 sports to the Olympic Council of Asia. Hours later, the MoYS released a statement, saying that it had sent a list of 31 sports to the Olympic Council of Asia.

Athletics, basketball, badminton, boxing, cricket, cycling, eSports, golf, hockey, judo, karate, kabaddi, squash, soft tennis, swimming, rugby, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu feature in lists sent by both the NOC and the MoYS.

The NOC’s list also includes eight other sports—archery, breakdancing, baseball and softball, canoeing and rafting, kurash, modern pentathlon, skateboarding and skating, and sport climbing. On the other hand, the MoYS’s list includes nine other sports—taekwondo, gymnastics, equestrian, football, fencing, shooting, triathlon, rowing and handball.

The NOC has insisted that it is the authorized body for Nepal’s participation in events governed by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia. The Ministry, however, has been insisting that the current leadership of the NOC is not legitimate and that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee has accepted its sports entries. The 20th Asian Games are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.