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The legend Sunil Chhetri star defender Sandesh Jhingan along with first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu were all name on Tuesday for the 22-member men’s football for India for the upcoming Asian Games. 

The head coach of the national senior team, Igor Stimac, is going to be in charge of overseeing the Indian team in Hangzhou, China, the host city for the Games. The All-India Football Federation (AIFF), under the direction of Chhetri and under the coaching of 1998 Croatian World Cup semifinalist Stimac, was optimistic about sending its first squad to the Asian Games, according to a previous report from PTI. 

It has been discovered that the Olympic Council of Asia and the organizers of the Asian Games have approved this Indian team. The sports ministry’s requirement that teams send squads ranked in the top eight on the continent cast doubt on India’s men’s along with women’s football team’s ability to compete in the Hangzhou Games.

Following an appeal from the AIFF, the ministry later waived the requirements, clearing both teams. Stimac, the head coach, had also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get involved in the situation.

Group A includes Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the host China PR in addition to the Indian men’s squad. There are 23 teams total, split up into 6 groups. Group D consists of three teams, whereas Groups A, B, C, E, and F each contain four teams. Asian Games champions twice For the first time in nine years, India is taking part in the continental games’ football competition.

The Asian Games football competition is normally an Under-23 affair, but because this year’s hosting of the event was postponed by a year, the organizers decided to allow 24-year-olds to compete, with January 1, 1999, as the cutoff date. The national football squad, who did not compete at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, will be going back.

The squad:

• Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem.
• Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Narender Gahlot, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh, Ashish Rai.
• Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Apuia Ralte, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Rahul KP, Naorem Mahesh Singh.
• Forwards: Siva Sakthi Narayanan, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Aniket Jadhav, Vikram Partap Singh, Rohit Danu.