With some last-minute maneuvering, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) may have managed to assemble a respectable squad for the Asian Games 2023. But Indian Football Team may still play the hosts China in the opening match without having participated in a single practice session.
The AIFF has requested that players arrive in Delhi by no later than 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The team was supposed to fly from Delhi to Hong Kong on a Sunday night flight at 10.40 p.m., stop there for one hour, and then board the next flight to Hangzhou in eastern China.
The plan was to arrive in Hangzhou right away, but tickets weren’t finalized until late on Saturday, and there were mounting concerns that the team might not get to China until late on Monday.
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Indian Football Team in Asian Games 2023
It’s highly possible that Indian Football Team won’t have any training before they face China on Tuesday, September 19, having only arrived in Hangzhou on Monday evening, September 18.
“Whether every one of us is travelling individually or in groups is yet unknown to us,” a top official informed TOI.
The 19th iteration of the Asian Games take place from September 23 to October 8. However, the football competition will begin four days early on September 19 when India and China will play in the first round.
Fact that Narender Gahlot and Aniket Jadhav won’t travel for China until after their AFC Cup match against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Tuesday and that Deepak Tangri’s long-term injury recovery is in doubt only makes matters worse.
The Indian Football squad wasn’t finalized until late on Friday because clubs wouldn’t release players for the Asian Games, which were held during the Indian Super League (ISL) and outside the FIFA international calendar.
At the continental event, India‘s group matches against China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are scheduled for September 19, 21, and 24, respectively.
The top two teams in each group advance automatically to the elimination round.
