Indian men's football team drops six places to 133rd in FIFA rankings, worst in nine years
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI): The Indian men's football team slumped to its lowest ranking in nine years as it dropped six places to 133rd in the FIFA chart issued on Thursday, courtesy two losses in June.
India lost to Thailand (0-2) in an international friendly on June 4 before suffering a defeat to lower ranked Hong Kong (0-1) in an Asian Cup qualifying round match, leading to head coach Manolo Marquez's parting of ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The last time the Indian team had a worse ranking was in December 2016 when it was placed at 135. India's best ever ranking was 94 in February 1996.
The Indian team currently has 1113.22 rating points as against 1132.03 previously. It occupies the 24th place among 46 Asian countries led by Japan (17th rank).
Nothing has been going right for the Indian men's team. The loss against Hong Kong has put the side in a difficult position in its bid to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.
The team logged just one win from its last eight matches under Marquez's tutelage, the lone victory coming against Maldives in March.
This year, India have so far played four matches, out of which they have won one, drew another, and lost two. The poor results prompted the return of former skipper and iconic striker Sunil Chhetri to the squad but that has done little to improve the team's fortunes.
India's next scheduled international match is an away fixture against Singapore in the third round of Asian Cup qualifiers in October.
World champions Argentina leads the overall chart of 210 countries, followed by Spain, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong leader Prithviraj Chavan defiant after facing verbal missiles on Op Sindoor remarks
Mumbai (PTI): Despite facing criticism, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday stood by his controversial comments that India faced a "total defeat" in aerial fight with Pakistan on the first day of Operation Sindoor on May 7.
The former Union minister refused to apologise for his comments on the Indian military operation against terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK in aftermath of massacre of tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April.
Talking to reporters in Pune on Tuesday, Chavan claimed India faced a "total defeat in the aerial fight (with Pakistan) on May 7 which lasted for half-an-hour".
"One may believe this or not. After that the Indian Air Force got grounded and not a single aircraft took flight that day.... be it Gwalior, Bhatinda or Sirsa, there was a possibility of aircraft being shot down, so our complete Air Force was grounded," the former Maharashtra chief minister had said.
Hitting out at Chavan, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused the Congress of speaking the language of Pakistan. He said questioning the military action was akin to demoralising the morale of armed forces.
ALSO READ: New safety wristbands launched for children at Makkah’s Grand Mosque
"The criticism does not stem from the love of the nation, but love for Pakistan," said the chief leader of the Shiv Sena, a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA.
Chavan, however, remained defiant.
"There is no question of apologising. The Constitution has given me the right to ask questions," the Congress veteran asserted.
Chavan also questioned the need of having a 12-lakh strong Army when future wars will be about aerial combats and missiles. "During Operation Sindoor we saw that there was no movement of the Army even for a kilometre," he had said.
BJP Lok Sabha MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chavan's remarks are loaded with sedition.
"He (Chavan) has refused to apologise. The Indian armed forces struck 100 kms inside the Pakistan territory and destroyed 11 air strips (of the Pakistani Air Force). He made remarks that the Indian Army did not even move an inch (during the military operation). This is nothing but a statement full of sedition, a statement of a traitor," Patra said, lashing out at the Congress leader.
The BJP spokesperson maintained the Congress appears to be standing with Chavan and alleged the Opposition party is playing into foreign hands.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should apologise for it, he added.
Union minister Giriraj Singh of the BJP insisted it was not right to devalue the valour of Indian armed forces.
Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh suggested that wherever armed forces are concerned, every Indian should be mindful of statements they make and ensure their comments do not demoralise the military.
Operation Sindoor was a result of "mistakes of politicians", he claimed.
TDP MP Krishna Devraylu said after the poll defeat in Bihar, the Congress is rattled and their leaders have been talking absurdly.
"Chavan's remarks are a prime example of this. This kind of disrespect to our armed forces is not necessary. If the Congress is angry with the NDA, it should show it in a different way and not drag armed forces into it," Devraylu opined.
AAP MP Ashok Mittal said such statements should not be made by any senior politician, especially by someone who has been a former chief minister.
The Indian armed forces registered a strong victory and destroyed terror launchpads in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Mittal added.
