Young Tigresses qualify for Asian Cup, return home to hero’s welcome

The Indian U-20 women's football team qualified for the AFC Women's Asian Cup after a historic win in Myanmar. The team, returning home to celebrations, maintained a perfect defensive record in qualifiers

Hyderabad: Just 36 days after the Indian senior women’s team wrote a historic chapter in Indian football by qualifying for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the Indian under-20 women’s team added further glory by securing their berth at the AFC Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup.

After a victorious campaign in Yangon, the Young Tigresses received a warm welcome upon their arrival in New Delhi on Monday morning.

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In a matter of five weeks, the wait of two decades came to an end. While the Blue Tigresses did it after 23 years, the Young Tigresses will feature on the continental stage after 20 years.

It was also about vanquishing the demons of the past. In 2022, the senior side had to withdraw from the Asian Cup due to a COVID outbreak. The following year, the U-20 side were knocked out in the first round of qualifiers by the narrowest of margins — on goal difference — by Vietnam.

Winger Neha, one of the few players from that Vietnam squad, had a chance at redemption in Myanmar. The relief on her face after the game was palpable.

“I feel ecstatic that I’ve done it for the first time, finally. Last time in Vietnam, we missed the qualifiers by just a goal. But this time, I feel proud. I would like to extend my gratitude to my father. Before the match, for the first time, he told me, ‘Beta, go do something for Team India today,’ so I’m feeling very proud. The coach also noticed there’s something good in me and supported me a lot. I would also like to thank my papa,” said the 19-year-old, who provided the assist for Pooja’s winning goal with a superb cross from the left flank.

Head coach Joakim Alexandersson, who has trained the squad since his appointment in December last year, had tears in his eyes after achieving his first major success with Indian women’s football.

“This is very special for the girls. They’ve been preparing for many months now, and seeing how the senior women’s team qualified in such a fantastic way gave them extra motivation. They had a great spirit and really wanted to achieve this too. Qualifying for the Asian Cup was our only goal when we arrived in Myanmar, and now we’ve done it,” said Alexandersson.

Captain Shubhangi Singh, disappointed after the goalless draw with Indonesia in the opening game, was overjoyed with the win on Sunday.

“I’m actually beyond happy, to be honest. The way we worked as a team, especially in the second half, we gave it our all, and it was totally worth it. The crowd tried to put us under pressure, and it got harder, but our mindset remained strong.

I think we were the better team, but credit to them as they performed well too. We came in with the mentality of winning, because for us, a draw in today’s game would’ve almost been like a loss. So we went for it, and we came back with the win. That’s all that matters,” she said.

The second half was far from comfortable as Myanmar piled on the pressure. But the Indian backline, led by Cindy Colney and Thoibisana Chanu in central defence, maintained their clean sheet — they didn’t concede a single goal in the qualifiers.

On the rare occasions Myanmar breached the backline, goalkeeper Monalisha Devi stood strong. The hosts came dangerously close to scoring in the 80th minute, but Monalisha’s sharp reflexes denied them. The 19-year-old achieved a unique distinction — being the only player to feature in both the senior and U-20 qualifying squads.

Alexandersson noted,

“Honestly, the second half wasn’t the best in terms of the quality of our play. But to keep a clean sheet for the third time, and to work as hard as we did as a team, shows the fantastic morale these players have.”

Following the celebrations on the pitch, Alexandersson delivered an emotional speech to the team:

“This is a very emotional moment for me because I saw how hard you were working out there. But despite the challenges, the effort you put into the game was immense. We fought so hard, defending with every part of our bodies. We truly showed that we deserve to be in this Asian Cup, and that is exactly why we are here.”