India's Olympic Association (IOA) announced today, 24 November
that it has withdrawn more teams from sports in the 15th Asian
Games.
In addition to the men's basketball team which, to general
surprise, failed to take the court for their scheduled basketball
match against Bahrain yesterday, the IOA today confirmed that the
men's and women's basketball teams would not contest the Games,
together with their sepaktakraw and fencing squads.
Doha's Asian Games Organising Committee announced this morning
that they had been advised by the IOA that the withdrawals,
received by fax from Delhi, were "due to last minute unavoidable
circumstances."
In a report published in the Gulf News, Syed Nasir Ali, manager
of the Indian football team for the Games denied statements in the
press that they wouldn't be participating, "We have everything set
for the trip and we are going to participate in the soccer
tournament at the Asian Games.
"The news that we are not going to Qatar is wrong. We should
participate and that is why the team is going to Doha."
(dohaasiangames.org November 24, 2006)