The OCA has confirmed its readiness to welcome athletes from the two nations after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened the door for their return under "strict conditions" of neutrality.

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been largely frozen out of international sport in response to Russia’s widely-condemned invasion of Ukraine but are now being offered a possible avenue to Paris 2024 via OCA competitions.

Among those events include this year’s delayed Asian Games, scheduled to take place from September 23 untilOctober 8.

Singh announced that the OCA is working with the IOC and International Federations to create an OIympic qualification pathway for competitors from Russia and Belarus without losing quota spots already in place for Asian athletes.

The Indian official suggested that separate medals could be awarded to athletes from Asian nations should Russian and Belarusian competitors deny them a place on the podium.

"They won’t interfere in our medal system or Asian quota for the Olympic Games," Singh told the Indian Express.

"The IOC will work out [Olympic] quota [policy] with us at the OCA and the International Federations.

"And there will be separate medals."

The Asian Games were originally scheduled to be held last year only to be postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions in China.

Boxing, hockey and modern pentathlon are among the sports that are set to offer qualification places for Paris 2024 at Hangzhou 2022.

Singh admitted it was unlikely that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete in combat sports.

"We are devising a philosophy where they’ll be able to compete in [events] where we can take them on numbers," said Singh.

"Not in combat sports like wrestling, for instance.

"If our wrestler from Asia gets knocked out in the first round, then we lose out on qualification.

"But if there is a points system like in athletics, shooting… these kinds of sports are where they’ll be able to compete."

Ukraine has slammed the IOC’s decision to further explore a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes and threatened to boycott Paris 2024.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited IOC President Thomas Bach to the war-torn city of Bakhmut to "see with his own eyes that neutrality does not exist" and issued a letter to the heads of the world’s leading governing bodies calling on them to stop Russian and Belarusian participation.

The IOC has also been accused of "sweeping Russian war crimes under the rug" by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Bach has defended the IOC’s approach, insisting that it "does not correspond to the values and the mission of the Olympic Charter to exclude athletes of their passport".

The IOC has stressed that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes would be under "strict conditions" of neutrality, and only for athletes who "fully respect the Olympic Charter", with sanctions including a ban on national symbols remaining in place.

Singh said the reason why the OCA has offered to give athletes from Russia and Belarus the chance to compete at its event was based on the "principle that sport is a unifying power".

"The idea is to give an opportunity to the athletes to participate and not miss out on the Paris Olympic Games," Singh told the Indian Express.

"Sport is not a place for politics.

"Sports are for sports people; for love, friendship and brotherhood.

"Sports people are one family.

"On that basis, we are supporting them."

The European Olympic Committees, Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, Panam Sports and the Association of National Olympic Committees have also expressed their support for the IOC stance on Russian and Belarusian participation.