It will be a big blow for Indian football if the team misses out on Asian Games participation. And it will be a repeat of what happened in 2018.
According to the Sports Ministry rules a team which is not ranked in the top 8 can’t be cleared for participation and India is currently ranked 18th. So in that sense the door is closed.
But then is it?
There is also a clause which states that if experts and Sports Authority of India make a special recommendation for a particular sport citing reasons why an exception can be made, the ministry could consider it.
And that’s what the AIFF is banking on. Speaking to RevSportz, AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran said, “There is not yet a categorical no from the ministry. And we will appeal to them.”
He went on to add, “This is a decision taken by the government. So, we have to abide by it. However, we will make an appeal to the government to reconsider the decision. The Indian team’s performance this year has been extremely encouraging. It will be a great boost for football, especially for the U-23 boys, if they get an opportunity to play in the Asian Games”, he concluded.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey who is also the Acting CEO of the IOA will now have to push through an urgent appeal to see if the decision can be reconsidered.
For the record Sunil Chhetri while speaking to RevSportz had said, “You can improve only when you play teams which are better than you and that’s what we should do.” Coach Igor Stimac who was expected to accompany the team to China had also said the same. “You need to play better teams to judge how much you have improved” said the coach.
With the Asian Games a real opportunity to test yourself against better teams one hopes the Sports Ministry will make an exception and allow the footballers to travel to Hangzhou.