Indian football team midfielder Anirudh Thapa has been found to be coronavirus positive. All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Kushal Das gave this information on Saturday. He told news agency PTI, “Yes, Anirudh Thapa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is living separately from other team members.”
Actually, Anirudh Thapa was found coronavirus positive on Wednesday, a day earlier, India suffered a 0-1 loss to Asian champions Qatar in the World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers. The 23-year-old from Chennaiyin FC will undergo another test again for the virus in a few days. He has isolated himself away from other players in a separate hotel room in Doha. Thapa has played more than 20 matches for India.
India is already out of the race for the World Cup but hope remains intact for the 2023 Asian Cup. The country is fourth in the Group E table with three points from six matches. Right now the team has to play two more matches on June 7 and 15.
In the combined qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup, head coach Igor Stimac’s men still have two matches left to play. The Indian national team will battle against Bangladesh and Afghanistan on June 7 and on June 15 respectively.
