India national under-23 football team
| Nickname(s) | Blue Cubs |
|---|---|
| Association | All India Football Federation |
| Head coach | Lee Johnson |
| Olympic Games | |
| Appearances | None |
| Best result | Qualifiers |
| AFC U-22 Asian Cup | |
| Appearances | None |
| Best result | Qualifiers |
| Asian Games | |
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2002) |
| Best result | Round of 16 (2010) |
The India national under-23 football team is the men's football team that represents India at the under-23 level internationally. The primary goal of the team is the participate in the Summer Olympics, AFC U-22 Asian Cup, and the Asian Games. The team is currently controlled by the governing body of football in the country, the All India Football Federation.
Currently, the team has never qualified for the Summer Olympics with the senior team qualifying in 1960 and has so far never qualifyed for the U-22 Asian Cup as well. In the Asian Games the team has made it as far as the Round of 16 stage in 2010, only to lose to Japan 5–0.
India's under-23s participated in their first ever tournament during the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. They were put into a group with China, Turkmenistan, and Bangladesh. Their first match was against Bangladesh in which India won 3–0 through a brace from future senior captain Baichung Bhutia and a strike from Renedy Singh. India then played their second match two days later against Turkmenistan where they won 3–1. Bhutia again scored a brace while Abhishek Yadav scored the third goal as India ran out 3–1 winners. Unfortunately, in their final match against China, India could not find the net as they fell 2–0 and thus were knocked-out of the Asian Games.
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