India's Olympic Association (IOA) announced today, 24 November that it has withdrawn more teams from sports in the 15th Asian Games.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)