Kathmandu, Sept. 18 -- There was uncertainty among hundreds of Nepali athletes-whether they could play in the 2026 Asian Games in Japan-until September 16, the deadline for the Olympic committees of the respective member countries to submit the number of athletes participating in the Asian main event.

The uncertainty persisted as the government and the Nepal Olympic Committee, led by Jeevan Ram Shrestha, were on opposite ends. While the government denied the legitimacy of Shrestha's NOC, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said otherwise.

When the then government, on June 30, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, had sent a list of 31 sports under which Nepali athletes would compete at Aic...