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The Indian men’s and women’s football teams are set to participate at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China after the Sports Ministry decided to relax the existing selection criteria.
Reacting to the Sports ministry directive as reported by PTI , All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief Kalyan Chaubey said , Indian football teams’ return to the Asian Games for the first time in nine years would provide a big boost to the players’ morale. Chaubey termed it as an important day for the sport in the country.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had earlier refused to clear the Indian football teams for the Asian Games on the ground that they were not ranked in the top-8 in Asia.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) then made an appeal to the Sports Ministry to allow the men’s and women’s sides to take part in the prestigious event with national senior team head coach Igor Stimac also seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention.
