Hangzhou: Excitement is building as the Indian football team prepares to kick off their Asian Games 2023 campaign with a thrilling encounter against China. Despite facing several challenges, the Indian squad is gearing up for the showdown in Hangzhou on Tuesday. Here’s everything you need to know about when and where to watch this highly anticipated match.
The Indian football team faces an uphill battle as they go head-to-head with China in their opening game of the Asian Games 2023. What makes this fixture even more intriguing is the absence of several key players due to club commitments and fitness concerns.
The Indian team’s journey to this match has been far from conventional, with no training session before their departure. They managed to finalise their squad only on Friday, departing for Hangzhou just two days later. India’s head coach, Igor Stimac, did not mince words when he criticised Indian Super League (ISL) clubs for not releasing players for the Asian Games, which fell outside FIFA’s international fixtures window. Notably, senior players Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan will be missing from the opener, as they are being preserved for the upcoming crucial matches.
The last time India faced China in the Asian Games was back in 2002 in Busan, where they suffered a 0-2 defeat. That iteration of the Indian team featured legendary names like Bhaichung Bhutia, Renedy Singh, and Jo Paul Ancheri.
India finds itself in Group A for the tournament, alongside China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Initially, 13 players from Stimac’s original 22-player list were unavailable, including Jhingan and first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Consequently, a 17-member squad, which included Chhetri, was named. However, on Friday, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) unveiled a revised 22-member team that saw the inclusion of Jhingan.
Here are the details for the much-anticipated India vs. China Asian Games 2023 football match:
Date and Time: Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at 5:00 PM IST.
Venue: Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China.
TV Broadcast: Catch the action live on Sony Sports Network.
Live Streaming: Can’t be near a TV? No problem. The match will be live-streamed on SonyLiv.
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