A long wait is over but the suspense remains. The Indian national men’s and women’s football teams finally received the Indian government’s clearance but doubts over their participation in the Incheon Asian Games are yet to be cleared.
The questions still persist due to the delay in the government’s go-ahead to the Indian contingent for Incheon.
The athletes and officials have already failed to meet the original deadline for the Delegates Registration Meeting (DRM) on September 6-7. Although the government clearance came through on Tuesday, the detailed list of cleared athletes has been delayed.
The official validation at the DRM cannot be conducted until the names are submitted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Without the completion of the accreditation process, athletes will not be allowed to enter the Games Village.
Football team strandedAs the IOA officials are expected to reach Incheon only on Wednesday, the football teams remain stranded in China. The squads can’t proceed to Incheon till the accreditation cards are acquired, which also serve as visas.
Although the Games begin on September 19, the women’s team kicks off its campaign off this Sunday while their male counterparts start a day later.
The fear is that by the time the required documents are procured, the teams could be left with 24 hours or less to acclimatise in Incheon.
Considering the quality of group opponents that lie in wait for the Indian teams, the government may have severely affected the team’s preparations and laid the ground for a poor performance. It must be remembered that the fear of an inadequate display had guided the government’s concerns on granting the clearance to the football teams.
Meanwhile, men’s team manager Wim Koevermans has decided to exclude Alwyn George, Salam Ranjan Singh, Rowlin Borges and Dhanpal Ganesh from the 20-man final squad for the Asian Games.
In the women’s section, manager Tarun Roy chose to dispense with the services of Supriya Routray, Indumathi, Jyoti Ann Burrett and Rinaroy Devi.
The squads: Men: Amrinder Singh, Ravi Kumar, Kamaljit Singh, Pritam Kotal, Keenan Almeida, Joyner Lourenco, Shankar Sampingiraj, Sandesh Jhingan, Narayan Das, Pronoy Halder, Clifton Dias, Siam Hangal, Lalrindika Ralte, Milan Singh, Francis Fernandes, Seiminlen Doungel, Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Haokip Thongkoshim and Mandar Rao Desai.
Women: Okram Roshni Devi, Aditi Chauhan, Pushpa Tirkey, Ashem Romi Devi, Ashalata Devi, Tuli Goon, Radharani Devi, Suprava Samal, Upamati Devi, Premi Devi, Amoolya Kamal, Mandakini Devi, Oinam Bembem Devi, Kamala Devi, Sasmita Malik, Prameshwori Devi, Dangmei Grace and Bala Devi.
