By Mark Baber
September 10 – The men’s and women’s Indian national teams for the Asian Games have finally been given the go-ahead to participate in the tournament, bringing to an end a nail-biting few days as Indian officials decided which sports would be cut from India’s contingent.
As Insideworldfootball reported yesterday, the men’s and women’s under-23 football teams were stranded in Shanghai waiting for sports ministry clearance on whether to proceed to Incheon for the Games.
The ministry issued a statement saying, “The exercise was undertaken to ensure that the deserving athletes, coaches and supporting personnel are participating in the Games.”
The sports that are going to miss out include baseball, bowling, fencing, karate, modern pentathlon, rugby, softball, soft tennis and triathlon.
Despite some poor results in the build-up and worries the teams might dent India’s prestige, football has the go-ahead and the players will be taking the 90-minute flight to South Korea, in batches.
The men’s team is due to play against the United Arab Emirates (on Monday) and Jordan, whilst the women’s team play the Maldives (on Sunday), hosts South Korea and Thailand.
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