Women’s side looks for silver lining at Asian Cup
The Indian men’s and women’s football teams will have a mountain to climb if they are to participate in the upcoming Asian Games, set to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4 next year, reports Sportstar.
The Indian men’s and women’s football teams will have a mountain to climb if they are to participate in the upcoming Asian Games, set to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4 next year. The Sports Ministry, on Wednesday, released strict criteria to ascertain which contingents in team sports will be sent by the country for the Asiad.
Part 4.1.III in the document mentions that a team will have to be ranked in the top eight in Asia or should have finished in the last eight of the AFC Asian Cup. Neither of the teams, men or women, has that.
The men’s team was eliminated in the group stage in the last edition of the Asian Cup, in Qatar in 2024, and is ranked 24th in Asia (134th in the world). Meanwhile, the women’s team is ranked 12th in Asia and was forced to withdraw from the 2022 Asian Cup due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Not the first time
This is not the first time such a provision has stifled India’s hopes. In the last edition of the Asian Games, too, it was on special discretion from the Central Government that the sides were allowed to travel to Hangzhou.
The men’s side was then knocked out in the round of 16 by Saudi Arabia while the women’s team made a group-stage exit.
The men’s team of India has won two gold medals at the Asian Games, in 1951 and 1962, followed by a bronze in 1970. However, it has failed to maintain consistency, with its best showing since being a quarterfinal finish in 1982.
“If it comes to notice of the Ministry and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that the aim is just for participation and not aiming for excellence (medal winning), names of such sportspersons and teams will not be approved after giving proper justification,” the Sports Ministry’s document stated.
Silver lining for Blue Tigresses
Though the chances of the men’s team playing at the Asian Games look bleak, a glimmer of hope for the women’s team remains, with the next edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup scheduled next year in Australia between March 1 and 21. The women’s team has qualified for the new format of the Asian Cup for the first time on merit and has risen seven spots to 63rd in the FIFA rankings, its highest in two years.
If it can finish in the final eight, it will, as per the criteria, secure a clearance from the Ministry for the Asiad in Japan six months after the Asian Cup.
For the men’s team, however, a spot in the next Asian Cup is yet to be confirmed, and by March – the cut-off date for ranking and performance — it remains unlikely that a major rise in rankings could happen, with India playing lower-ranked teams in the Asian Cup qualifiers.
In such a case, a route through the relaxation clause, like the previous edition, might prove to be the only way through to Japan.