Kathmandu, June 17 -- Nepal's top swimmers Ervin Shrestha, Medhavi KC and Nirnay Thapa have accused the Nepal Swimming Association of bias in the selection of athletes for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.

The swimmers organised a press conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday and blamed the association for changing a pre-qualification event into the main qualifier.

The controversy dates back to May 21, when the Nepal Swimming Association issued a notice stating that the third Nepal Aquatics Championship will work as a pre-qualification event for the Asian Games.

"The championship [taking place on June 6 and 7] is mandatory for athletes in order to advance to the Final Selection Round," the notice read.

The final selection was slated for the e...