Court vindicates Manjeet, but India’s Winter Olympics team set to be one-man strong

A week after the Delhi High Court froze India’s Winter Olympics selections, the curtain has finally fallen on the controversy. The court on Friday quashed the Indian Olympic Association’s decision to pick Stanzin Lundup , ruling that the exclusion of Manjeet was arbitrary and unfair.

The judgment confirmed what the rankings already showed. Manjeet stood higher in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) list and should have been India’s choice in cross-country skiing.

But vindication, it appears, has come too late.

The IOA told the court that Manjeet’s name was never part of the long list and that all Olympic entry timelines have expired, making his participation virtually impossible despite the ruling.

As things stand, India’s much-celebrated doubling of its Winter Olympics presence is set to quietly revert to one.

Unless deadlines melt miraculously in the Italian snow, the Indian contingent at Milano Cortina 2026 will once again be a one-man team led by alpine skier Arif Mohammad Khan .

Merit has been upheld. Participation, once again, has not.