# IOA names memorial trophies for Asian Games best athletes

2026-09-15T17:51:34+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha on Tuesday announced two memorial awards for the best Indian athletes at the Asian Games. The Raja Randhir Singh Memorial Trophy will go to the best male athlete, and the Jaspal Rana Memorial Trophy to the best female athlete. Usha made the announcement during the launch of a book on Rana titled 'Maverick Jaspal'. Randhir Singh, a five-time Olympian and the first Indian shooter to win an Asian Games gold, served as IOA secretary general for 25 years and as OCA president. He died in May at age 79. Jaspal Rana, a teenage prodigy at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, later coached Manu Bhaker to two Olympic medals. He died in June at age 49. Usha also said there were no accommodation issues yet at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan and that Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav would handle any problems. She is scheduled to leave for Japan on Wednesday.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Coverage across all three sources is uniform straight reporting with no discernible slant. All lead with the award announcement and quote PT Usha similarly, attributing the same facts about the athletes' careers. The only variation is that Hindustan Times and New Indian Express include additional detail on Singh's administrative roles and Rana's coaching legacy, while NDTV's brief report focuses on the trophy naming. The balanced reading is that the IOA's move to memorialise two figures who died months apart is a non-controversial institutional gesture. The concrete next step is Usha's departure for Japan on Wednesday to attend the Asian Games.

## Coverage

- newindianexpress.com (neutral report) <https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/sports-news/2026/Sep/15/ioa-announces-memorial-awards-after-raja-randhir-singh-jaspal-rana-for-best-asian-games-athletes-2>
  Straight news with quotes from PT Usha, no editorial framing
- hindustantimes.com (neutral report) <https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/others/ioa-announces-awards-in-memory-of-randhir-singh-and-jaspal-rana-101789490901088.html>
  Factual report with detailed biography, no slant detected
- sports.ndtv.com (neutral report) <https://sports.ndtv.com/asian-games-2026/maverick-jaspal-best-female-athlete-of-asian-games-to-get-jaspal-rana-trophy-12051472>
  Short factual report focused on trophy naming, no slant

Tags: Asian Games, Indian Olympic Association, Jaspal Rana, PT Usha, Raja Randhir Singh
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ioa-announces-two-memorial-awards-for-asian-games-best-athletes/
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Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ioa-announces-two-memorial-awards-for-asian-games-best-athletes/#story-in-brief