The Indian Football Team is likely to miss out on participating in the Asian Games 2023 due to not being able to fulfil the eligibility criteria set by the Union Sports Ministry. The senior men's team has seen a rise in recent times and has bagged three multi-nation titles in a few months and has even come on top against some tough opponents. The team is also gearing up for the upcoming crucial events including the AFC Asian Cup.
However, the U-23 team is being deprived of participating in the Asian Games 2023 due to not being ranked in the top 8 of the participating nations for the sport. The All India Football Federation was planning to pick a U-23 side to be headed by Igor Stimac for the tournament. Meanwhile, the coach has now appealed to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.
"A humble appeal and sincere request to Honourable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi ji and Hon. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, to kindly allow our football team to participate in the Asian games We will fight for our nation’s pride and the flag! Jai Hind!" Stimac captioned a letter written to the PM and the Sports Minister on Twitter.
In the letter, he briefed the Indian PM and the Sports Minister on the matter of India's participation in the event. “Honourable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi ji, I am not sure if someone would have briefed you or updated you about the Indian teams participating in the upcoming Asian Games, where the most important and the key global sport “football” team has been deprived from participating and representing the Indian flag," Stimac wrote in the letter.
Stimac also stated that the reasons given to deprive India's participation are unjust. "The reasons given are unjust and as India's national team coach, I felt it's important to immediately bring this matter to your and the Hon'ble Sports Minister Anurag Thakur's knowledge," Stimac added.
Earlier the Sports Ministry had sent a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and all the National Sports Federations. "For team events, only those sports which have achieved a ranking up to eighth among participating countries of Asia in the last one year should be considered for participation in Asian Games," the letter read. Meanwhile, the Indian men's and women's teams are outside the bracket. The Men's team are on 18th among the nations under the Asian Football Confederation. The women's team is at 10th. The Asian Games will be played from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China.
