Tag: Indian men’s football team

Sunil Chhetri to lead Indian men’s football team at Asian Games

Sunil Chhetri’s scoring form has inspired India to multiple victories in recent games. AIFF

Sunil Chhetri will lead the Indian men’s football team at the Asian Games as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) named the 18-member squad on Wednesday.

The announcement ends widespread confusion regarding the Asian Games-bound squad, with many Indian Super League (ISL) clubs reportedly unwilling to release their players for the quadrennial event. The football competition at the Games is to begin on September 19, while the ISL is slated to kick off two days later.

While football at the Asian Games is usually a U-23 competition, each team is allowed to field three players over the age bracket. Sandesh Jhingan, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Chhetri were the three seniors shortlisted, but now only Chhetri will feature in the team. This also means that Bengaluru FC will miss their skipper’s services for their mouthwatering opening clash against Kerala Blasters.

Commenting on the team announcement, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, “It has been a hectic time for Indian football season this time. We have a tight schedule within a short period of time that was not easy to manage.

“There have been too many things happening, both at the domestic and the international level, involving India’s National Teams, as well as the ISL clubs. While the Senior National Men’s Team successfully completed playing a series of matches, they are also awaiting to play the Asian Games, followed by Merdeka Cup, World Cup Qualifiers, and the AFC Asian Cup.”

Chaubey thanked the ISL clubs for making the team’s participation possible. The men’s team is competing at the Asian Games after a nine-year gap.

“There were situations which were unavoidable and demanded a great balancing act. It was never easy, but at the same time, I must reach out to FSDL and the clubs, thanking them for making it possible. The Indian National Team are going to the Asian Games after a nine-year gap, and it has become possible because of the active support the Indian Football received from the Government of India, especially the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,” he said.

Source: https://www.espn.in/football/story/_/id/38392426/sunil-chhetri-captain-indian-men-football-team-asian-games-igor-stimac-aiff

 

India-Nepal Footballers Break Into Ugly Fight During SAFF Championship Match, Video Goes Viral – WATCH

The Indian men’s football team was up against Nepal in their second match of the ongoing SAFF Championship in Bengaluru on Saturday (June 24), and for the second match in a row, Indian players broke into an ugly fight with opposition players on the field, the video of which is now going viral on the internet.

The Sunil Chettri-led Indian men’s football team was up against Nepal on Saturday (June 24) during their second match of the ongoing SAFF Championship. In a match that was played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, thanks to goals from skipper Chhetri (62nd minute) and winger Naorem Mahesh Singh (70th minute), India managed to secure a 2-0 win. The win on Saturday was India’s second success in a row. The Blue Tigers had earlier defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 in their opening match. In that game, Chettri scored a hat trick.

Like in the first match against Pakistan, in the second game as well, Chhetri was on the scoresheet, but apart from that, there was also an ugly fight between the players from both countries. The incident happened during the 64th minute of the match when India’s Rahul Bheke and Nepal’s Bimal Gharti Magar went up for a header, and the former landed awkwardly. On getting up, the 32-year-old Indian charged at Magar, prompting other players from India and Nepal to get into the scuffle.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/football/india-nepal-footballers-break-into-ugly-fight-during-saff-championship-match-video-goes-viral-watch-article-101249087

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