India U17 women’s team reaches China for AFC Asian Cup
India’s U17 women’s football team has reached Suzhou for the AFC Asian Cup after a long training camp, with matches against Australia, Japan and Lebanon lined up as they aim to qualify for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup
Hyderabad: The India women’s national team, after a brief camp in Gurugram, reached Suzhou on Monday ahead of the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup China.
India, which qualified for the tournament after 21 years, will begin its campaign with a match against Australia (May 2, 17:00 IST on Pitch 8), followed by Japan (May 5, 17:00 IST on Pitch 4) and Lebanon (May 8, 13:00 IST on Pitch 8) in Group B. All of India’s matches will take place at the Suzhou Taihu Football Sports Centre pitches.
The top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams among all three groups will make it to the quarter-finals. Further, the four quarter-final winners will qualify for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026. The AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026 will be streamed live on the AFC Asian Cup YouTube channel.
Under Italian head coach Pamela Conti, who was appointed in January, India have had a continuous training camp of more than three months, the bulk of which was held in Bengaluru. Being a U17 side, they won the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship title in February, and in March, won two friendly games against Myanmar in Yangon. Earlier this month, they played three friendly matches against Russia in Sochi, and while they lost all three, it provided valuable experience of playing strong opponents ahead of the Asian challenge.
After returning from Russia, the Young Tigresses continued their training camp in Gurugram from April 20 to 26 before departing for China.
India’s 23-member squad for AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026:
Goalkeepers: Munni, Surajmuni Kumari, Tamphasana Devi Konjengbam.
Defenders: Abhista Basnett, Alena Devi Sarangthem, Alisha Lyngdoh, Divyani Linda, Elizabed Lakra, Joyshini Chanu Huidrom, Ritu Badaik, Taniya Devi Tonambam.
Midfielders: Alva Devi Senjam, Bonifilia Shullai, Julan Nongmaithem, Olivia Chanu Ningthoujam, Pritika Barman, Redima Devi Chingkhamayum, Thandamoni Baskey.
Forwards: Anushka Kumari, Anwita Raghuraman, Joya, Pearl Fernandes, Valaina Fernandes.
Head coach: Pamela Conti
Assistant coaches: Vincenzo Conti and Nivetha Ramadoss
Goalkeeping coach: Mario Aguiar
Strength and conditioning coach: Amit Yadav.