"Confident going there even without senior players" - Indian head coach Igor Stimac on his squad selection for 2023 Asian Games

The Indian men's football team is finally ready to set off on their Asian Games 2023 campaign after a tumultuous build-up. After plenty of chopping and changing, head coach Igor Stimac has managed to finalize his squad for the continental competition just days before the start.

The tournament is primarily for U-23 players, with the exception of just three senior players allowed for every team. Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu were added to the squad with great expectations lying on India's performance in Asiad. However, in the revised list, both Jhingan and Gurpreet were left out owing to their club commitments.

But in the latest iteration, Jhingan was added back to the squad along with Chinglensana Singh to fill up the senior player spots.

Speaking about why the Croatian gaffer looked past the senior team players in his selection, Stimac stressed during a press conference on Sunday:

“One of the reasons why no senior player was involved on my first list was my faith and trust in the younger generation and this is because I opened the door of the Senior National Team widely to them on the very first day of my work here."

“That’s why I am confident going there even without senior players,” he added.

Stimac explained that the players, who aren't regularly part of the national team setup, now have a great opportunity to prove their pedigree on a grand stage.

“Those players who are not primarily on the list in the team have a great opportunity in front of them. It’s a great challenge for them to prove themselves, to achieve their dreams, and to prove that they deserve better opportunities in the ISL and in their clubs,” the Croatian added.

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“China will be a tough side" - Igor Stimac assesses India's opponents in the Asian Games opener

With just a day left for the opening fixture against mighty China (September 19), India are yet to reach the Eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, where the tournament is taking place. As things stand, the Blue Tigers will have no training sessions ahead of their first assignment against the Asian heavyweights.

However, Igor Stimac underlined that the time will be utilized to prepare the team for a resilient performance against China.

“We need to focus on what can be done in the next two days until the kick-off, to do everything possible within our power to open the tournament with a good fight,” he stated.

China are the toughest of the three opponents in the group. The 56-year-old stressed that India will be pragmatic when it comes to their approach in the tournament. They could save their legs in the first match to increase their chances of qualifying for the knockouts.

“China will be a tough side, and they prefer a 4-4-2 system, which might change to a 3-4-3 occasionally. They have three senior players that are very important to their side. So we will need to be clever and preserve our energy for the next two games, and then we might make it to the knockout rounds,” Stimac opined.

After the clash against China, the Blue Tigers will face Bangladesh on September 21 and Myanmar on September 24 in the group stage.

India will be eyeing the second spot as the top two teams from the six groups will make it to the pre-quarterfinals, along with four best-ranked third-placed sides.