Assam's Taekwondo star Rodali Barua takes legal fight over exclusion from India's Asian Games team, seeks CM's intervention

Less than two years after scripting history by ending India's decade-long medal drought at the Asian Taekwondo Championships, Assam's Rodali Barua has found herself fighting a very different battle, one outside the competition arena.

In May 2024, Barua secured a bronze medal in the women's heavyweight (+73 kg) category at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Da Nang, Vietnam, becoming the first Indian taekwondo athlete in ten years to finish on the podium at the continental event. Today, despite being ranked 67th in the world and training under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports' Target Asian Games Group (TAGG), the international medal winner is contesting her exclusion from the Asian Games selection process before the court.

The controversy stems from a selection camp organised by India Taekwondo in Pune on June 15, 2026, for the upcoming Asian Games. The camp was conducted months after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports withdrew recognition from both India Taekwondo and the Taekwondo Federation of India on February 27, 2026, following a Delhi High Court order.

The withdrawal of recognition has since cast a shadow over the legitimacy of administrative decisions taken by the federations. Against this backdrop, the Pune selection camp has come under scrutiny, with allegations that it was conducted without legal authority and outside the framework prescribed under the Government of India's National Sports Development Code.

Barua, one of the country's leading taekwondo athletes, has approached the court challenging the legality of the selection exercise. Her petition contends that the camp violated the National Sports Code as well as the regulations of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), effectively denying several top-ranked athletes an opportunity to compete for selection to the Indian contingent.

According to the All Assam Taekwondo Association, Barua was among several prominent athletes who were allegedly neither informed about nor included in the selection camp. The association argues that the exercise compromised transparency and fairness at a time when elite athletes across the country were preparing for qualification events for the Asian Games.

All Assam Taekwondo Association President Bolin Chetia and General Secretary Hiranya Saikia have also questioned the authority of officials who conducted the camp despite the withdrawal of government recognition. They alleged that the selection process lacked legal validity and undermined the established mechanism for choosing the national team.

The association further claimed that the disputed camp has created uncertainty within India's taekwondo ecosystem and disrupted preparations of athletes who have been training under government-supported programmes for international competitions.

Seeking wider institutional intervention, the All Assam Taekwondo Association, along with Barua, has appealed to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take up the matter with the appropriate authorities. They have also urged the Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Authority of India to ensure that the selection of India's Asian Games squad is conducted through a transparent, lawful and merit-based process.

For Barua, whose bronze medal in Da Nang symbolised India's resurgence in Asian taekwondo after a decade, the challenge now extends beyond international competition. Her legal battle has emerged as a test case in the broader debate over governance, accountability and athlete rights in Indian sport, with the outcome likely to have implications far beyond a single selection camp.