INDIA WILL PLAY their first football match in the Asian Games without a single practice session in China.
Speaking to the reporters today, Blue Tigers head coach Igor Stimac revealed,
"We have the flight at 10 pm today. Reach Hong Kong at 7 am, take another flight to Hangzhou, reach at 5 pm. We'll give tactical preparation at airport or flight. We won't have single training session before the game. We need to let players rest after we reach."
The Blue Tigers' departure was delayed after tickets to Hong Kong were not confirmed for an earlier flight.
The move may cause Stimac to keep senior players Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan out of the game when they face China on 19th September in their first group stage match.
The coach said that India do stand a chance to get to the knockout stages in the Asian Games, but for that to happen the team has to play the best football and luck needs to be on their side.