The Karnataka High Court has directed the Union government, the Sports Authority of India, and the Indian Olympic Association to respond to a petition filed by surfer Ramesh Budihal, who is challenging his exclusion from the main Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
Hearing the plea, a single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj instructed the sports authorities to file their official replies after Budihal, a 25-year-old bronze medalist at the 2025 Asian Surfing Championship, questioned the Surfing Federation of India’s decision to name him only as a reserve athlete. The multi-sport event is scheduled to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4.
High Court Rejects Administrative Portal Deadlines
During court proceedings, the Indian Olympic Association argued that the list of selected athletes had already been uploaded to the Olympic Council of Asia portal and could no longer be modified.
Justice Govindaraj rejected the argument, warning the sports governing bodies that administrative entries could be struck down if found improper. The court emphasized that if an incorrect entry had been submitted, it would be deleted, even if it meant India would be left without a representative in the event. The bench further remarked that sports federations and associations exist solely because of the athletes.
Representing Budihal, Advocate Manmohan P stated that his client is India’s only medal winner from the previous Asian Surfing Championship and noted that the governing body provided no official explanation for bypassing him for primary selection. The petition requests that the court recall the submitted athlete list for the 2026 Asian Games and mandate the formation of an independent selection committee.
Deadlock and Executive Intervention
The court challenge follows weeks of internal administrative friction within the Surfing Federation of India. After the federation released an initial participant list on June 3, Budihal appealed the selection before the organization’s internal appeals panel.
The panel partially granted Budihal’s appeal, directing the federation to form a dedicated selection committee. This committee was instructed to evaluate competing surfers objectively based on performances from January 1, 2025, onwards, while giving appropriate weight to results from the Asian Surfing Championship and documenting specific reasons for any deviations.
When the selection committee convened on June 20 and 21 to evaluate both men’s and women’s categories, members reached a deadlock regarding the evaluation methodology. The panel eventually decided that each voting member would perform an individual assessment, resulting in a tied vote between Budihal and fellow surfer Sivaraj Babu.
On June 23, the federation’s Executive Council assumed selection authority, choosing Sivaraj Babu for the primary spot and designating Budihal as the first reserve. The council defended the decision by citing the absence of a tie-breaking mechanism in the selection policy and insufficient time to hold a “surf-off” prior to the Indian Olympic Association’s submission deadline.
Budihal’s legal filing asserts that the Executive Council lacked the authority to select athletes, arguing that selection decisions reside strictly with a formal selection committee. The petition describes the action as arbitrary, discriminatory, and unreasonable, alleging violations of fundamental constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India.
