The Gymnastics Federation of India has dropped former Commonwealth and Asian Games bronze-winner Ashish Kumar from its Sportspersons of Merit (SOM) roster as it responded to complaints of alleged irregularities in the selection process, describing them as a misunderstanding on being questioned by the Sports Ministry. As per the National Sports Governance Act, the SOM appointees are required to retire at least one year before applying for the position. Ashish and another gymnast Aditya Rana, who were included in GFI’s “provisional” SOM roster, competed as recently as April-May during a domestic event in Bhubaneswar. The Ministry sought GFIs response on complaints that they were included despite being ineligible. Former national champion Rakesh Kumar Patra, who is part of the revised SOM roster, was among the complainants. The GFI acknowledged including Ashish and Aditya based on their own declaration of being retired but said necessary “corrective action” was taken after scrutiny of applications and supporting documents, including retirement status. It also asserted that the action was initiated before Patra’s complaint on July 30. The GFI’s official …