With Sunil Chhetri and Igor Stimac at helm, AIFF hoping for strong show in Asian Games

Indian football’s “rapid strides in recent past” and an upsurge in public interest in the sport presented a “compelling case” for the inclusion of the men’s and women’s teams for the upcoming Asian Games, national federation president Kalyan Chaubey said.

The participation of the Indian men’s and women’s football sides in the Hangzhou Games was earlier in doubt as per the sports ministry’s criteria of sending teams which are ranked in top-8 in the continent.

The sports ministry later cleared both the teams by relaxing the criteria after an appeal from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Head coach Igor Stimac had also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in the matter.

“Indian football has been making rapid strides in the recent past. We have improved in football as a nation, improving our FIFA ranking, winning three back-to-back international titles,” AIFF president Chubey told PTI in an interview.

The Indian men’s team won the tri-nation tournament, Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championships earlier this year and moved back to below 100 in FIFA rankings for the first time since 2018, showing signs of steady improvement.

“The combined viewership of SAFF Championship on our YouTube channel saw an impressive influx of fans participation, our women’s team progressed to the Round 2 of Olympics qualifying,” said Chaubey, a former India goalkeeper.

“It’s hearting to see the entire nation witnessing and supporting the emergence of Indian football over the last few months. This all made for a compelling case for us to present it to the central leadership.” India is currently ranked 18th among countries under the Asian Football Confederation. But, out of the 23 competing countries in the Asian Games, India