Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Thakur Urges Funding, Coaches, End to Sports Politics After Games
Anurag Thakur praised India’s athletes for their performance at the 2026 Asian Games.
India won 85 medals and finished fourth overall.
Its medals included 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.
Indian teams won gold in both the men’s and women’s events in cricket, kabaddi and hockey.
Thakur said the country should spend more money on sports and hire more coaches.
He also said states have an important role because sports is a state subject.
He wants politics inside sports associations to stop.
China finished first in the medal standings, followed by Japan and South Korea.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur congratulated Indian athletes on their 2026 Asian Games performance.
He urged state governments to increase sports budgets and provide more coaches.
Thakur said politics within sports associations must be eliminated to improve performance.
India finished fourth with 85 medals: 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze.
India won gold in all six men's and women's cricket, kabaddi and hockey events.
- Who
- BJP MP Anurag Thakur and Indian athletes.
- What
- Thakur congratulated athletes and called for more sports funding, more coaches and an end to politics within sports associations.
- When
- After India’s 2026 Asian Games campaign.
- Where
- New Delhi; the Games were held in Aichi-Nagoya.
- Why
- Thakur said greater investment and removing politics within sports associations are needed to improve India’s sporting performance.
- India's medal total
- 85 medals
- India's medal breakdown
- 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze
- India's overall position
- Fourth
- Gold-medal sweeps
- India won gold in all six men's and women's cricket, kabaddi and hockey events.
- Thakur's recommendations
- Higher sports budgets, more coaches and the elimination of politics within sports associations.
- Previous Indian record cited
- 106 medals, including 28 gold, at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
- Top medal standings
- China first with 341 medals; Japan second with 269; South Korea third with 150.