NEW DELHI: India’s men and women football teams are unlikely to travel to Japan for the Asian Games, scheduled from Sept 19-Oct 4. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) intends to stick to the sports ministry’s qualification criteria, which says individual athletes who are ranked top-6 in Asia, and teams who are placed top-8 in continental rankings, will be cleared to represent the country at the multisport event, TOI has learnt. The same selection yardstick also applies for the Glasgow CWG in July-Aug.
The men’s team is currently placed 27th at the Asian level and is ranked 141st in the world. The women’s team is ranked 12th in Asia and 67th globally. At the last Asiad in Hangzhou 2023, the IOA refused to clear the football teams, but the ministry made a special concession to allow the two sides for the Games. The men’s team was shown the door by Saudi Arabia in the round-of-16 while the women’s side exited in the group stage.
According to sources, the IOA won’t be clearing the contingent, solely based on the ministry criteria and the discussions it had with the authorities. “Though the long list of athletes has been shared by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with the IOA, the two teams don’t qualify for selection based on their Asian rankings. During the IOA’s meetings with the ministry officials, as well as the members of the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG), there were enough indications that the football contingent won’t go,” a source informed.
“It happened during the time of the Jakarta Asiad in 2018 when the football teams were denied permission to travel. The final call will be taken by the ministry when the official contingent is decided. That is something for the future. But based on the ministry’s notification, there are strong feelings that the ministry wishes to adhere to its selection policy,” the source added.
According to the ministry’s notification, only athletes and teams with a “real chance of winning medals” are allowed to participate in continental events. “If it comes to notice of the ministry and SAI that the aim is just for participation and not aiming for excellence, such sportspersons and teams will not be approved after giving proper justification,” the document read.
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