Asian Games 2023: Indian football returns to Asiad, No practice, no rest for Sunil Chhetri & Co before taking on hosts China

Indian Super League Prediction

March 14 2026, 05:00 PM

SC East Bengal

Kerala Blasters

The Indian national football team will be at the Asian Games 2023 stage and after a gap of nine years at the quadrennial event. While that in itself is something to be cherished, not much can be expected in terms of results due to the logistical nightmare.

India will take to the field against hosts China in their opening fixture of Asian Games 2023 on Tuesday (September 19) at the Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium without even having a single practice session together.

The All India Football Federation somehow managed to put together a respectable squad for the continental showpiece but tussles with the clubs regarding releasing players ultimately caused quite a delay.

The team, which is still not at full strength due to visa issues for two players, left for China on Sunday and coach Igor Stimac was forced to discuss match strategies at the airport and inside the aircraft.

The Croatian had already hinted that talisman Sunil Chhetri and defensive stalwart Sandesh Jhingan would not be risked against the hosts prior to the team's departure and that will make it even harder for the Blue Tigers to secure a positive result on Tuesday.

"They have been preparing this team for a long time. Since March this year, they've played four tough and quality games against strong opponents, losing three and winning one. So, it will be tough because they (China) have invested a lot in this team, especially because they are hosting the Asian Games 2023," Stimac had said.

The strategy seems to be to conserve energy for now and try and target the games against Bangladesh and Myanmar with the top two sides in each group and four best third-placed teams progressing to the Round of 16.

"We have to be very clever and see whether we need to invest all our energy (against China) or skip it to keep for the next two matches and try to make it to the knockout rounds. No tournament is a formality for me, neither the players. There is a possibility to qualify from the group, but to do that, some luck needs to be on our side also, and the goal is for the boys to give their best performances of their lives," the coach added.

Legendary Indian footballer Shyam Thapa, who was part of India's bronze-winning 1970 Asian Games squad (the last time the football team won a medal in Asiad), is not at all impressed with the way things were handled.

"I'm delighted that finally India will have their football team in the Asian Games after a long gap. It is imperative we keep playing in this historic competition but not like this. This is a new group of mainly young boys and without sufficient practice, how can one expect results?

"I know Chhetri will be there but football is a team game. The coach cannot come up with miracles at such short notice without finding out the team's best combinations. Fans and people at home should temper their expectations from now itself. And for the future, we should try and arrange everything well in advance to give ourselves the best chance of progressing in the competition," the 75-year-old exclusively told myKhel.