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The upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games will feature a brand new sport in the form of breaking, also commonly known as breakdancing. However, the Indian Union Sports Ministry has chosen to not let Indian breakers compete at the games, with their names omitted from the final list of athletes going to the Asiad.
Heartbroken and confused over this puzzling decision, the Amateur Dance Sport Federation of India has requested Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to let Indian breakers compete at the Asian Games at no cost to the government.
In an email to the Union Sports Ministry dated August 24, the ADSFI explained that its athletes had been training for over two months and had a “strong chance of bagging a medal for India." They requested that the minister (Anurag Thakur) "clear our athletes at no cost to the Government and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).”
Speaking on the issue in an interview to Sportstar, ADSFI secretary Biswajit Mohanty said:
“There is no response. Time is running out, and the rates of flight tickets are going up. This is a new discipline, which is there in the Paris Olympics next year; it needs encouragement. If our athletes do not get adequate exposure, how can they qualify for the Olympics?”
"The situation is unjust and disheartening,” he added.
Given that breaking is set to make its debut at the Hangzhou Games and will also feature at the 2024 Mohanty raises a valid concern. The ASDFI secretary also questioned "the fairness of the selection process and the support we (the breaking community) receive from our Sports Ministry.”
Breaking to make its debut at the Asian Games
With its addition in the Hangzhou Games, this is the first time that breaking will feature at the Asiad. Alongside e-sports, breaking is one of the two new sports that will feature in the 2023 Asian Games.
While South Korea, Japan and China are the favorites to finish on the podium at the games, Indian breakers certainly hold the potential to stun if given the support.
