After missing out on the 2018 edition and getting a reprieve at the last minute in 2023, India’s men’s football team will have to fight for the right to compete at the next Asian Games, due to be held in Aichi-Nagoya in September and October of 2026. The country’s Sports Ministry on Wednesday imposed stringent new criteria for athletes and teams to qualify for the quadrennial continental multi-sport event, saying that only those with a “real chance” of winning a medal will be selected. The ministry also ruled out the inclusion of additional coaches and support staff even if they are willing to pay their own costs, a move that is aimed at improving selection processes criticised as haphazard in the past.
The ministry circular said that for team events such as football and hockey, a minimum of a top-eight finish at the Asian Championships or in the top-six for individual sport is required to meet the criteria. In addition, for competitions where no Asian Championships have been conducted in the last 12 months, a top-two finish at a continental championship or top-four in the latest world rankings will suffice.
According to Kyodo News, North Korea is planning to send a delegation to the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad, which will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. The country has been banned from entering Japan as part of sanctions against Pyongyang’s repeated ballistic missile firings, but the organizers have made exceptions for sports.