Chhetri is the only notable face in the 17-member Indian football team attending the Asian Games, Stimac’s status is unknown.

Chhetri is the only notable face in the 17-member Indian football team attending the Asian Games, Stimac’s status is unknown.

This can be seen as a huge loss of face for AIFF president and BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey, who in fact conducted stormy negotiations.
PTI

Sunil Chhetri from India File | Image source:
K. Murali Kumar

Veteran striker Sunil Chhetri is the only notable face in India’s 17-member squad for the Hangzhou Asian Games as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) finally fielded the squad. Second-class form comes on, but he remains a big question mark regarding the top flight. coach. Igor Stimac accompanied the team.

Most clubs are reluctant to release the 22 players named in the Indian squad as the Asian Games football schedule clashes with the ISL schedule, which begins on the 21st. September. This could be seen as a huge loss of face for AIFF president and BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey, who had in fact held stormy talks with the ministry to send the team despite not meeting the criteria government about participating in the quadrennial extravaganza.

After lengthy and heated negotiations, AIFF was able to announce a weak squad consisting of 9 players out of the original 22, including Chhetri, while the rest consisted of missing players. Experience from clubs.

But there are still doubts about Stimac’s ability to go to Hangzhou at the head of such a small team. He had previously said that the Asian Games were a priority. This may be a rare case of India sending a weak team to participate in a major tournament. The only saving grace is the involvement of the current boy of Indian football, Chhetri, who recently became a father. The national federation, which was able to re-form the team just three days before departure for China, still thanked the Indian Super League clubs and the FSDL “for coordinating with them to release the players”.

The Indian team is set to begin its Asian Games campaign with a match against China on September 19, followed by matches against Bangladesh (September 21) and Myanmar (September 24).

The top two teams from six groups will advance to the preliminary round, with the four highest-ranked third-placed teams also qualifying.

The football team does not meet the criteria to participate in the Asian Games but has been given permission by the Sports Ministry for the prospect of selecting the best team, with Chhetri, key defender Sandesh Jhingan and number one goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the squad. team. team. But ISL clubs had other plans as they refused to release their players as it would mean missing 3-4 matches. However, they are not required to release players because the Asian Games are not within the time of FIFA international matches. An ill-fated AIFF even hoped that ISL clubs would release 22 players out of the 50 registered for the Asian Games to allow the senior men’s team to participate in the continental tournament .

The weak team only has two goalkeepers, instead of three in the normal 22-member squad, and that could become a problem if there are any injuries during the tournament.

The team will also have to choose 10 outfield players from a field of 16 and any additional injuries could result in limited substitutions and most players would have to stay on the field for extended periods of time. . Bengaluru FC, who fielded six players out of the original 22, only released Chhetri. In Bengaluru’s Gurpeet’s absence, India’s scoring will be led by either Gurmeet Singh or Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem.

East Bengal, which had two players in the earlier squad, did not have any in the final team. Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan have one player each in Gurkirat Singh and Sumit Rathi respecvtively.

Many of final team players have not played too many matches for their respective ISL clubs and have not been regular first XI players.

The Indian Squad: Gurmeet Singh, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Sumit Rathi, Narender Gahlot, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Samuel James, Rahul KP, Abdul Rabeeh Anjukandan, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Bryce Miranda, Azfar Noorani, Rahim Ali, Vincy Bareto, Sunil Chhetri, Rohit Danu, Gurkirat Singh, Aniket Jadhav.