The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced a 17-member team for the Asian Games with Sunil Chhetri as captain.
While Sunil was included in the team, India's star goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and star defender Sandesh Jhingan were not available.
The federation has announced the team without them.

The Asian Games will begin in Hangzhou, China from September 19,2023.

Along with announcing the team, the AIFF also thanked the Indian Super League clubs and FSDL for releasing players for the Asian Games.

AIFF president Kalyan Choubey said, "There is a tight schedule ahead. It was not easy to maintain balance on all sides.

There are matches of ISL along with the national team. Currently, the Indian team is waiting to play in the Asian Games.

After that, there is the Merdeca Cup. There are also matches in the World Cup qualifying round and the AFC Asian Cup qualifying round.


The AIFF thanked the Indian Super League clubs and FSDL for releasing players for the Asian Games.



According to the rules, under-23 players are supposed to play in the Asian Games.

However, three senior players over the age of 23 can be included in the team.

The federation and national team coach Igor Stimac  thought of including Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the team as these three senior players.

While Sunil was available as captain, the other two players were not available.

In addition, it is reported that several familiar faces could not be included in the team as the respective ISL teams were not willing to release players.

It is still not confirmed whether Stimac and his assistants will be in charge at the Asian Games.

Selected Indian team:

Gurmeet Singh,

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem,

Sumit Rathi,

Narendra Gehlaut,

Amarjit Singh Kiam,

Samuel James,

Rahul KP,

Abdul Rabe Anjumkandan,

Ayush Deb Chhetri,

Bryce Miranda,

Azfar Noorani,

Rahim Ali,

Vincent Barretto,

Sunil Chhetri,

Rohit Danu,

Gurkirat Singh and

Anirudh Yadav.



The Asian Games are a major international sporting event that is held every four years.

The football tournament at the Asian Games is open to under-23 teams, with three over-23 players allowed per team.

The All India Football Federation and National team coach Igor Stimac originally planned to include Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as the three over-23 players in India's team for the 2023 Asian Games.

However, Jhingan and Sandhu  were not available due to injury and club commitments, respectively.

In addition, several familiar faces were not included in the team because their respective Indian Super League (ISL) clubs were not willing to release them. This includes players such as Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Anwar Ali.

The final 17-member Indian squad for the 2023 Asian Games is as follows :--

Goalkeepers:

Gurmeet Singh and Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem.

Defenders:

Sumit Rathi, Narendra Gehlaut, Amarjit Singh Kiam, Abdul Rabe Anjumkandan, and Gurkirat Singh.

Midfielders:

Samuel James, Rahul KP, Ayush Deb Chhetri, Bryce Miranda, Azfar Noorani, Rahim Ali, and Vincent Barretto.

Forwards:

Sunil Chhetri, Rohit Danu, and Anirudh Yadav.

It is still not clear whether Stimac and his assistants will be in charge at the Asian Games.

The AIFF is currently in negotiations with the clubs to release the players for the tournament.