Football
AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers: India to open campaign against China as Maldives withdraws
India was scheduled to play its first game on Wednesday. But with Maldives withdrawing, India's first game has been rescheduled.
India U23 squad for the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifier.
India's opening encounter in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers has been cancelled after Maldives withdrew from the tournament at the last minute. The match between India and Maldives was scheduled to be played on Wednesday.
Hussain Jawaz, the General Secretary of Maldives Football Federation, said Maldives withdrew due to severe financial constraints.
Maldives was in Group G along with India, UAE and host China.
India will now play its first game of the tournament against China on September 9 in Dalian Suoyuwan Stadium. The match will start at 5:05 PM IST.
"Nothing changes for us; we have to do the same things that we would have done with the Maldives. We still have to do our best and play to our maximum potential," head coach Clifford Miranda said.
Miranda said the main objective remains the same with the Maldives’ withdrawal. "The group probably gets a little tougher but we had to play China and UAE anyway. So our overall objective is still the same. We will give our best to try and qualify for the U23 Asian Cup."
Miranda is happy with getting a couple of extra days of training in China but also recognised the drawback of not getting to play a game before facing the hosts.
He said, "The good part is that we get a few days of training together as a complete team. Also, the boys will get time to rest and recover, both physically and mentally, after an extremely long and tiring journey to China.
"Playing against the Maldives would’ve provided us a good opportunity to find our rhythm before facing China and UAE. Let’s face it, among the three, the Maldives were the least dangerous opponents and would’ve been a good starting point for the team to prepare for the other two," he added.
