New Delhi: The Indian men’s football team has got the official confirmation to participate in the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta, days after national coach Stephen Constantine appealed to the government to send a team for the mega sporting event.
“The official confirmation has come to the All India Football Federation. The men’s team is going for sure but the women’s team’s faith still hangs in balance as they are yet to get the green light,” a well-placed source close to the AIFF said.
Constantine had made an appeal to the government during the Intercontinental Cup earlier this month to let the team participate in the competition.
“We need more games and if the government is listening, send us to the Asian Games. It’s an U-23 event and we have 11 players in this squad who are below 23. The benefits the players will gain from the Asian Games will be huge,” Constantine had said.
In his second stint with the Indian team, Constantine oversaw skipper Sunil Chhetri-inspired India’s triumphant campaign in the Intercontinental Cup, which culminated with a convincing 2-0 win over Kenya in the summit showdown in Mumbai.
The Intercontinental Cup was a preparatory event for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. India are clubbed with hosts United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Bahrain in Group A of the continental showpiece, which will be held across eight centres from January 5 to February 1.
Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian team’s national contingent head Azim Mohd Zabidi has issued a strong warning that anyone guilty of doping offence will be dropped from the squad.
He said all athletes were required to undergo a doping test by the Malaysian Anti-Doping Agency (ADAMAS) before departing to Jakarta or Palembang and athletes who avoided the test, despite being given enough time, would also be dropped from the national squad. “They also have to sign an undertaking, whereby one of the paragraphs we have put in is, if found guilty, we have the right to punish him more heavily than that meted out by the association or ADAMAS. So if the association or ADAMAS imposes a three-month suspension, we can say six months,” he said.
— With inputs from APP
