Indian golfers caught in IGU factional dispute over Asian Games entries

New Delhi: India’s leading golfers including Shubhankar Sharma, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, among others, are caught in factional disputes within the sport’s warring national federations over entries for the forthcoming Asian Games in Japan, with rival groups in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) contesting who had the authority to submit names for the continental event. One IGU faction was recognised by the sports ministry and International Golf Federation (IGF), while the other had affiliation with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The ministry acknowledged the Brijender Singh-led group, and the IOA backed the Harish Shetty-led body as its member NSF unit. The two factions held their separate AGMs and elections on Dec 15, 2024 in Delhi, leading to a major conflict between the ministry and the IOA.In the latest face-off, the Shetty-led body sent the long list of golfers for the Asiad, scheduled to be held in Aichi Prefecture and its capital, Nagoya, from Sept 19 to Oct 4, 2026, to the IOA, since the last date to send the long list of athletes was Jan 15th. The federation sent names of nine men and eight women comprising top professional golfers and the IOA accepted the entries. The Singh-led faction, supported by IGU DG Maj Gen (retd) Bibhuti Bhushan, reacted strongly to the development. In a statement to TOI, the golf body demanded immediate govt attention and threatened legal recourse against the Shetty & Co and IOA. “Recently, the IOA engaged with the unrecognised faction for obtaining the long list for Asian Games 2026. The IGU strongly condemns this action and reiterates that any engagement outside the recognised framework is illegal, invalid, and untenable. The IGU reserves its right to pursue all appropriate legal remedies to uphold the authority of the law and protect the integrity of golf administration in India,” Bhushan wrote. Earlier, the Singh-led faction shot off a letter to golfers, warning them that dealing with unauthorised factions would put their careers at significant risk. A copy of the letter is with TOI. “Certain unauthorized individuals, specifically a faction falsely claiming to be the office bearers of the IGU, are circulating misleading communications regarding selection trials, coaching camps, and participation in upcoming international events, including the Asian Games. This letter serves as a formal advisory to disregard and not entertain any communication, directive, or selection notice from any entity other than the officially recognised IGU office. Participation in unauthorised camps or trials will not be considered for official selection to the Indian team for the or any other international tournament or competition of the IGF or of the Asian Pacific Golf Confederation,” the letter said. When contacted, the Shetty-led group said the IOA asked them to send the names since they were recognised by them. “For the men’s long list of players, we have forwarded the name of nine professional golf athletes as per the decision of our selection committee meeting of sending names of top 10 Indian players on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). For women, top eight players on the World rankings were decided and we sent those names to the IOA accordingly. The entries of golfers will go through the IOA,” an official informed. The IOA stated that the sports body solely reserved the right to send the names of athletes for the Olympics, Asiad and other multisport events, being the national Olympic committee (NOC). “It’s a unique situation in golf. One body is recognised by us (IOA), the other by the ministry. So, the flashpoints. In this case, the IOA communicated with Shetty-led group regarding sending the golf teams to Asiad. The Games’ technical book clearly states that ‘Only the OCA member NOCs are entitled to send athletes to participate in the golf competition and entries must come through their respective NOCs’. So, we will forward the names received since the Shetty group is affiliated with the IOA,” an IOA official said. Long list of golfers: (Men): Yuvraj Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat, Shubhankar Sharma, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rayhan Thomas, Shaurya Bhattacharya, Angad Cheema, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Saptak Talwar. Women: Aditi Ashok, Pranavi Urs, Diksha Dagar, Avani Prasanth, Hitaashee Bakshi, Vani Kapoor, Tvesa Malik and Ridhima Dilawari.