The power struggle inside the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) seems to have queered the pitch for football’s participation in the forthcoming Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China.
IOA president PT Usha and joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey, who is also the acting chief executive officer, are not on the same page on many issues and football finds itself caught in that crossfire. In a letter dated July 10, the sports ministry stated that in team events only those sports which have achieved a top-eight ranking in the last one year will be eligible for the Asian Games.
While the All India Football Federation (AIFF) initially was confident of getting an exemption — Chaubey is the president of the federation after all— now, it is dawning upon it that men’s and women’s squads may miss the flight to Hangzhou.
“The power struggle in the IOA is the main reason why there is a cloud over the football team’s participation in the Asian Games,” an IOA official said on condition of anonymity. “We still have some time since the last date for withdrawal of the teams is July 26,” he added.
The football draws are slated for July 27.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey with Sikkim chief minister PS Tamang at Ranipool near Gangtok on Wednesday night. File photo
On Wednesday, an IOA letter added fuel to the fire. While the letter could have mentioned the wrestling criteria, the inclusion of the conditions for team sport raised quite a few eyebrows.
“In team events, the focus will be on selecting sports that have achieved the top-eight ranking in the last one year preceding the Asian Games. This approach will guarantee that team sports with a proven track record of excellence and competitiveness in the region gets the opportunity to represent India,” the media statement said.
“What is surprising is that when the squad lists for team events have been sent to the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia), then why IOA included the team event criteria? It gives an impression that IOA will not bend backwards to accommodate the football teams,” the official said. “It is following the government guidelines.”
The men’s team is on a high now after a string of good performances in the last four months — winning a tri-nation tournament, the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championships — and that’s one of the reasons why AIFF is pitching for an exemption.
In the Fifa rankings released on Thursday, India men are 99th, a first-time double-digit ranking since December 2018 — and ranked 18 in Asia.
In the past, India participated in the Asian Games with the AIFF footing the bill but the government, a few years ago, made a rule that such practices would not be allowed.
Also, the fact that the men’s under-23 team has not played in recent times made matters worse for AIFF.
“But most of them play for the senior team,” one official pointed out.
National coach Igor Stimac last Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sports minister Anurag Thakur to intervene. But even that doesn’t look good enough for the teams to travel to China.
