More Confusion on India’s Asian Games Football Squad as Ministry Names Gurpreet

Asian Games: It is still unclear which players will feature for India in the China meet.

More Confusion on India’s Asian Games Squad as Ministry Names Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

(Photo: Twitter/IndianFootball)

The updated Indian men's football team for the Asian Games, revised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) on Friday, 15 September, is causing much confusion over the inclusion of goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the squad.

While the Sports Ministry has included Sandhu in the squad for Hangzhou, the Indian Super League (ISL) has not verified the release of these players, nor has the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) stated anything on this matter.

The list of 655 players for the Asian Games released by the Ministry significantly looks different from the list released by AIFF earlier on Wednesday. The AIFF's revised list for the Asian Games had 13 changes in the original team after the Indian Super League clubs refused to release a few players.

However, the list from the MYAS, on the other hand, is quite different.

The Ministry made six changes to the team, which was originally announced by the AIFF in August but has preserved the bulk of it. Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who were removed from the AIFF's revised roster, are among the players who make up this group. The list also includes Mahesh Singh Naorem, Anwar Ali, and Akash Mishra.

Meanwhile, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey mentioned the inclusion of Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan in the team, whilst confusion about Gurpreet still remains.

September 14 Squad: (From AIFF)

Goalkeepers: Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Yadav
Defenders: Sumit Rathi, Narender Gahlot, Deepak Tangri
Midfielders: Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Samuel James, Rahul KP, Ayush Dev Chhetri
Forwards: Rahim Ali, Vincy Barretto, Sunil Chhetri, Liston Colaco, Gurkirat Singh, Aniket Jadhav, Bryce Miranda, Abdul Rabeeh Anjukandan, Azfar Noorani

September 15 Squad: (From Sports Ministry)

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Yadav
Defenders: Anwar Ali, Narender Gahlot, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga
Midfielders: Ayush Dev Chhetri, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Abdul Rabeeh, Samuel James, Jeakson Singh, Suresh Singh
Forwards: Rahim Ali, Aniket Jadhav, Rahul KP, Liston Colaco, Sunil Chhetri, Vincy Barretto, Vikram Pratap Singh