Asian Games: Rules hurt India again as e-football medal hopes end in bizarre collapse

India’s eSports campaign at the 2026 Asian Games came to a frustrating end on Tuesday, with Danial Patel and Chinmay Sahoo exiting the eFootball competition without playing in their final Group F match. Mongolia’s failure to meet the required check-in time resulted in a 0-0 draw for India, but the result fell short of the goal difference needed to advance.

According to a report by The Bridge, Mongolia’s team leader arrived three minutes after the scheduled check-in time, after which the organizers awarded India the match as a forfeit. Patel and Sahoo had previously drawn 0-0 against Uzbekistan, so the final match in the group was important for their chances of progressing to the knockout stages.

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India did collect points, but the 0-0 score did not improve their goal difference. Uzbekistan earlier defeated Mongolia 2-0, winning the mobile and console matches 6-3 and 12-0 respectively, giving them a significant advantage in the group.

India finished the same as Uzbekistan on four points, but the wicket difference equation worked against Patel and Sahoo. They also failed to qualify via the best route in second place, with Thailand and Saudi Arabia occupying those spots after finishing with +3 and +2 goal difference respectively.

The early exit was a big disappointment for Patel in particular. He enters the Asian Games as the reigning Asian eFootball Mobile champion after winning the FIFA Continental Championship title this year, while a medal in Aichi-Nagoya would give India its first official Asian Games eSports medal.

COLLAPSE WILL CHANGE THE DESTINY OF INDIA

The Indian team did not simply accept the result without raising an objection. Patel and Sahoo asked for the match to be played, but the organizers claimed the forfeit was a prescribed result after Mongolia missed the entry deadline.

“We protested and said we wanted to play games instead of a forfeit, but they (officials) said a forfeit is what the rules say,” Sahoo told The Bridge.

India was also given the option to conduct a formal review, but the team chose not to take that route as it entailed a fee of US$500 (around Rs 47,800).

Goal difference remained the main theme. Patel said India would need a substantially different score for the loss to stay in the qualification equation. “Until they gave us the jump 3-0, 3-0 with a +6 goal difference, we didn’t qualify,” he added.

ANOTHER RULE-BASED OBSTACLE

The eFootball episode came soon after India’s next medal campaign at the Asian Games was decided by the competition regulation. Traditional Suchika Tariyal women’s 60kg MMA semi-final against Singapore’s Hui Hoon Teo was eventually settled using the weight criterion after the match was declared a draw following India’s protest.

Teo advanced after being found 700 grams lighter than Suchika at the morning weigh-in. India paid US$1,000 (around Rs 95,700) to challenge the original decision, but the result remained unchanged, with Suchika winning the bronze.

India’s eSports campaign in Aichi-Nagoya is still alive in other disciplines, with Pokemon Unite, League of Legends and Puyo Puyo Champions remaining in contention. However, for Patel and Sahoo, their eFootball campaign ended without a chance to determine their fate through the match.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

23 Sep 2026 11:24 IST