Igor Stimac Appeals to PM Modi Regarding Indian Football Team's Participation in Hangzhou Asian Games

Indian men’s football team head coach Igor Stimac wrote a lengthy letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to allow the Indian team to participate in the upcoming Asian Games.

Stimac took his Twitter handle and posted a lengthy note wherein he requested PM Modi on Monday to look into the matter, while he also tagged Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

According to reports, the Indian football team have been denied participation in the Hangzhou Asian Games due to the government’s criteria of being ranked in the top-8 teams in the continent.

India are currently ranked 100th in the FIFA rankings, while the Blue Tigers are ranked in 18th place in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

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In his tweet, Stimac wrote, “A humble appeal and sincere request to Honourable Prime Minister Sri @narendramodi ji and Hon. Sports Minister @ianuragthakur, to kindly allow our football team to participate in the Asian games. We will fight for our nation’s pride and the flag! Jai Hind.”

The tweet also included a note which talked about how the Indian team was denied participation in the Asian Games. Stimac insisted how the U-23 team, a talented bunch of players are being denied due to reasons which he felt were ‘unjust’.

The Croatian coach also mentioned how PM Modi’s recent remark about Kylian Mbappe touched the hearts of Indian fans during his visit to France.

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According to the Sports Ministry’s letter sent to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and all the National Sports Federations (NSFs), “for team events, only those sports which have achieved a ranking up to eighth among participating countries of Asia in the last one year should be considered for participation in Asian Games.”

After the decision, AIFF had said that they would appeal to the sports ministry to reconsider their call.

“This is a decision taken by the government. So, we have to abide by it. However, we will make an appeal to the government to reconsider the decision as far as football is concerned,” AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran.