MUMBAI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) condemned the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) decision to drop the national football teams from the upcoming Asian Games contingent.
“The Committee strongly condemned Indian Olympic Association’s decision to debar football teams from participating in the forthcoming Asian Games scheduled to be held in Jakarta,” the AIFF said in a statement after its executive committee meeting here.
The AIFF’s statement follows the announcement by the IOA on Friday, reiterating that the contingent already cleared for the Asian Games included all eligible names, while insisting that the fresh request from the Sports Ministry to consider more potential entries, if any, had been addressed.
The Sports Ministry had, in a letter last Wednesday, asked the IOA to find out if any individuals or teams not satisfying the existing criteria could be considered as possible top-four finishers at the Asian Games. “The Core Committee and legal committee of the IOA met today (Friday) and, after detailed discussions and having done complete exercise and those who met the criteria of top-6 and top-8 were accordingly considered and their names have already been forwarded,” IOA president Narinder Batra wrote to Sports Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar.
A senior IOA official told Sportstar the ministry’s proposal was discussed in detail but all the suggestions were already covered in the existing criteria. “Our criteria of top-6 in individual events and top-8 for team events are actually more lenient than a possible top-four finish as sought by the ministry,” he said.
The decision closed the door for football’s inclusion even though the initial 524-strong list is likely to increase marginally after the inclusion of a three-member Sport Climbing and 24-member Bridge squad.
