India football team head coach Igor Stimac on Sunday expressed displeasure on the impasse over the Asiad squad that forced the national federation to stitch an under-strength side at the last moment after hectic parleys with ISL clubs and the league organisers, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL).

Stimac did not take names during the virtual news conference ahead of the team's departure for China, but dropped enough hints about who all scuppered his and AIFF's plan to field a strong squad.

"If I knew that certain elements would stop us from going with the best possible team, I would have rather picked all the players from the I-League and trained with them for two months and prepared with them for the Asian Games," a livid Stimac said.

"It would not have been much different," he added, making clear what he thinks about the third-string players that ISL clubs have released.

As the squad was stitched at the eleventh hour after the ISL clubs refused to release their players and organisers FSDL did not entertain a request to delay the start of the league by a few days, Stimac informed that the team will play its first match on Tuesday against China without a single session.

"Players are arriving at Delhi airport at 5-6pm today. We are going to meet there and we have a flight at 10pm to Hong Kong. We will wait (at Hong Kong airport) for another 5-6 hours for another flight which will take us to Hangzhou," Stimac said, his comment not lost on anyone.

Such has been the Indian team's plight that it faces China on Tuesday after reaching the Asian Games Village on Monday.

"We will reach there (Hangzhou) at 5pm (on Monday) and there will be no single training session prior to the game (next day). We have to do tactical preparation at the airport and during the flight so that they take rest as soon as possible after reaching there and have some good sleep prior to the match."

Stimac, however, said there was a possibility to make it to the knock-outs.