Shillong, Aug 11: The India U-20 women’s national team secured qualification for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time in 20 years after defeating hosts Myanmar 1-0 in their final Group D encounter in Yangon yesterday.
The last time India qualified for the tournament, was back in 2006.
The Young Tigresses finished top of their group with 7 points, after winger Pooja’s 27th-minute goal secured a victory for them in front of a partisan crowd at the Thuwunna Stadium.
Meghalaya’s Ribansi Jamu was in the squad that travelled to Myanmar but the goalkeeper didn’t get a game, instead supporting the team from the bench.
The All India Football Federation later announced a reward of $25,000 (just under Rs 22 lakh) for the team following their outstanding performance.
The India U-20 women produced some fine performances, remaining undefeated in their Group D qualification campaign, where they played Indonesia (0-0) and Turkmenistan (7-0), before defeating hosts Myanmar (1-0) without conceding a single goal along the way.
The Women’s Asian Cup 2026 will be held in Thailand in April next year.
This is the second good bit of news for Indian football, both coming from the women’s game. It was only last month that the senior women’s team qualified for next year’s Women’s Asian Cup, which will be held in Australia.
These twin pieces of good news stand in stark contrast to the otherwise negative happenings in Indian football, such as the terrible performance of the senior men’s team and problems in holding an Indian Super League season this year.
(Photo: All India Football Federation/Facebook)