Indian men's and women's football teams set to participate in Asian Games

The Indian men's and women's teams will be participating in the upcoming Asian Games, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur confirmed in a tweet on Wednesday.

The Indian football team was barred under the rule of the Sports Ministry, in team sports, only those who are in the top-eight ranking of Asia can participate.

After weeks of drama and confusion, the Sports Ministry has decided to relax the rules for the participation of both teams in the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The ministry has relaxed the rules on the ground of good performance from both teams in the recent past.

Taking Twitter to confirm the news, the Sports Minister wrote in a tweet," Good news for Indian football lovers! Our national football teams, both men's and women's, are set to participate in the upcoming Asian Games."

"The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, has decided to relax the rules to facilitate the participation of both teams, which were not qualifying as per the existing criterion. Keeping in mind their latest performances in recent times, the Ministry decided to grant the relaxation," the tweet read further.

Commenting on the move, men’s team Head Coach Igor Stimac said: “It’s a great day for Indian football and an enormously encouraging decision by the honorable Sports Minister Anurag Thakur ji and our government! Big thanks to all of them for allowing us the opportunity to challenge the best teams in the Asian Games."

The Asian Games has an age cap of 23 years in men's football, with the squad comprising of U-23 players, and three overage players are permitted.

The national men's team under Croatian coach Igor Stimac has entered the sub-100 club in FIFA ranking once again having won the SAFF championship where it played against Lebanon and Kuwait.

Before SAFF Championship, the team also won Hero Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneshwar.

Meanwhile, the women's team also cleared their first Olympic qualification round by defeating the Kyrgyz Republic with an impressive aggregate scoreline of 9-0 (5-0 and 4-0).