The Indian football team is already having to endure a lot in the Asian Games. The absence of a number of key players, the deadlock between FSDL and AIFF in releasing players, the lack of practice time for the selected squad ahead of the games, all have hampered India’s possibility in the continental event. To make matters worse, Mumbai City FC player Gurkirat Singh missed his flight from Hong Kong.
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Gurkirat landed in Hong Kong at 6:50am and his connecting flight to China was an hour later which he couldn’t catch. India was in desperate need for reinforcement and Gurkeerat’s faux-pas is sure to add to the headache of Indian coach Igor Stimac.
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“We can make it to the next round if we put in maximum effort and if we have some luck on our side,” Stimac had said after the 5-1 loss to China.
To make matters worse, four of the players who participated against China are currently suffering from cramps. The players affected by cramps include Sumit Rathi and Bryce Miranda, as well as Amarjit Singh, who sustained cramps during the China match. The Bangladesh match will take place on September 21 at 4 pm local time, and the heat and humidity in Hangzhou are expected to be even more extreme than in Kolkata, making it even more difficult for the players who have arrived without any preparation or training sessions.
The upcoming match against Bangladesh, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon, just 48 hours after the China match, could potentially lead to serious injury. Gurkirat’s presence was essential for India in such a scenario.
Now, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will have to collaborate in order to facilitate the timely arrival of the player in China in order to enable him to be available for selection in the Bangladesh match.
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