Confusion continues to surround the Indian football team selection for the Asian Games, five days before its first match. In a remarkable turn of events, India stalwarts Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan have been reported to be visiting China. The Indian Super League (ISL) teams, however, have not verified the release of players.
The team issued by the Sports Ministry as part of the final list of 655 participants late on Thursday differs significantly from the one released by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) a day earlier, on Wednesday.
The AIFF issued a revised list for the Asiad on Wednesday, making 13 alterations to its original team after the India Super League clubs refused to release some of its players. The list from the Centre, on the other hand, was quite different.
The Ministry has kept the core of the squad, which was first published by the AIFF in August, but has made six modifications to it. It includes players like Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who were cut from the AIFF’s amended list. Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, and Mahesh Singh Naorem are also on the list.
Original squad for Indian Football Team at Asian Games: (released by AIFF on August 1)
- Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem.
- Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Narender Gahlot, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh, Ashish Rai.
- Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Apuia Ralte, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Rahul KP, Naorem Mahesh Singh.
- Forwards: Siva Sakthi Narayanan, Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav, Vikram Partap Singh, Rohit Danu, Sunil Chhetri.
Revised squad for Indian Football Team at Asian Games: (Released by AIFF on September 13)
- Goalkeepers: Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Yadav
- Defenders: Sumit Rathi, Narender Gahlot, Deepak Tangri
- Midfielders: Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Samuel James, Rahul KP, Ayush Dev Chhetri
- Forwards: Rahim Ali, Vincy Barretto, Sunil Chhetri, Liston Colaco, Gurkirat Singh, Aniket Jadhav, Bryce Miranda, Abdul Rabeeh Anjukandan, Azfar Noorani
Recent squad for Indian Football Team at Asian Games: (released by Sports Ministry on September 14)
- Goalkeeper: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Yadav
- Defenders: Anwar Ali, Narender Gahlot, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga
- Midfielders: Ayush Dev Chhetri, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Abdul Rabeeh, Samuel James, Jeakson Singh, Suresh Singh
- Forwards: Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav, Rahul KP, Liston Colaco, Sunil Chhetri, Vincy Barretto, Vikram Pratap Singh
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