AIFF Set To Send Sunil Chhetri-led Senior Team For Asian Games If Ministry Gives Clearance

22.07.2023 - 18:01 sports.ndtv.com

The AIFF is bullish on sending its first team to Asian Games led by its talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri if it is able to get the green light from the sports ministry for participation is the continental showpiece starting September 23 in Hangzhou.

The national football team, which didn't get permission to participate during the Jakarta Games in 2018, is currently ranked 18th in Asia and the sports ministry's rule states that in team sport, only those in top-eight will get the nod.

The national team under Croatian coach Igor Stimac has entered sub-100 club in FIFA ranking once again having won SAFF championship where it played against Lebanon and Kuwait. "The current national team has seven U-23 first team players and since three over-age players are allowed, skipper Chhetri, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and defender Sandesh Jhingan are all set to go for the Asian Games if they team gets permission," a source privy to the development told PTI.

In fact, the AIFF has prepared a list of 50 under 23 players and forwarded it to the respective clubs. The idea, the sources said, is to raise another pool of under 23 players, who could be used for the AFC under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers and the King's Cup in Thailand.

Football Igor Stimac Singh Sandhu Sunil Chhetri Croatia India Thailand Kuwait Lebanon

Senior India batter Shikhar Dhawan was a "bit shocked" at his exclusion from India's Asian Games squad but remains determined to make a national comeback in the near future. With the first-choice players busy with preparation for the ODI World Cup at home, the BCCI named a squad full of youngsters for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October.

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar Likely To Be Considered For Asian Games

Star Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar is likely to be picked in the Indian contingent for the Asian Games following a request to the Sports Ministry by the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) to consider her case despite not fitting the selection criteria set by the government. Dipa, who brought Indian gymnastics into the spotlight by finishing a creditable fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was dropped from the final list of women gymnastics squad for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games from September 23 for failing to fulfil the ministry's selection criteria.

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar Likely To Be Considered For Asian Games

Wales hold live press conference as Warren Gatland explains team for England game

Warren Gatland will hold a press conference today, 24 hours after naming his first Wales team of the summer.

Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Gurpreet Singh In Indian Football Team For Asian Games

Talisman Sunil Chhetri, senior defender Sandesh Jhingan and first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu were on Tuesday named in a 22-member Indian men's football squad for the upcoming Asian Games. In Hangzhou, China, the host city for the Games, the Indian squad will be under the charge of national senior team head coach, Igor Stimac. PTI had earlier reported that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was bullish about sending its first team to the Asian Games led by Chhetri and coached by 1998 Croatian World Cup semifinalist Stimac.

With Chhetri And Stimac At Helm, AIFF Hoping For Strong Show In Asian Games

Indian football's "rapid strides in recent past" and an upsurge in public interest in the sport presented a "compelling case" for the inclusion of the men's and women's teams for the upcoming Asian Games, national federation president Kalyan Chaubey said. The participation of the Indian men's and women's football sides in the Hangzhou Games was earlier in doubt as per the sports ministry's criteria of sending teams which are ranked in top-8 in the continent.