After several clubs refused to let go of players for the Asian Games in the ongoing tussle with the AIFF, the India Men’s team will now go with a second-string squad for the Asian Games 2023. Further, the team has been stripped down to 17 members from the initial 23 called up in the initial list. The football tournament for the men’s division will begin on September 19, 2023, in Hangzhou, China.
After the federation reached an agreement with FSDL, who owns ISL, record goal-scorer Sunil Chhetri has been included in the squad. While he remains part of the squad, teammates Gurpreet Singh and Sandesh Jhingan have been restricted from joining the national team. They were part of the three overage players allowed for this U-23 competition. The 39-year-old will captain the team.
India will start their Asian Games journey against hosts China on 19th September 2023 and will go on to face Bangladesh two days later. Their last group game is against Myanmar on September 24. The knockout stage begins soon after with the final of the competition scheduled on 7th October 2023 should the team make it that far.
Men’s squad for Asian Games 2023
Goalkeepers: Gurmeet Singh (Hyderabad FC), Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (FC Goa)
Defenders: Sumit Rathi (Mohun Bagan SuperGiants), Narender Gahlot (Odisha FC)
Midfielders/Wingers: Amarjit Singh Kiyam (Punjab FC), Samuel James (Punjab FC), Ayush Dev Chhetri (FC Goa), Abdul Rabeeh (Hyderabad FC), Rohit Danu (Bengaluru FC), Vincy Bareto (Chennaiyin FC), Azfar Noorani (Kenkre FC), Bryce Miranda (Kerala Blasters), Aniket Jadhav (Odisha FC)
Forwards: Rahul KP (Kerala Blasters), Gurkirat Singh (Mumbai City FC), Rahim Ali (Chennaiyin FC), Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
According to reports, Igor Stimac is likely to manage the squad in the Games after initial speculation of him not taking charge. Gurmeet Singh, Rahim Ali and Rahul KP are the only players retained from the King’s Cup squad that ended just a few days ago in Thailand. Winger Azfar Noorani is the sole player in the squad not belonging to any ISL teams. The striking part of the squad is the absence of natural defenders with only two center-backs and no full-backs included. In that case, players will be forced to play in makeshift roles. This is a hugely depleted squad from the on that was announced at first.
