Blue Tigresses: The only silver lining in testing times for Indian football

The Blue Tigresses are providing the silver lining in these dark times for Indian football. Barely five weeks after the Indian senior women’s team qualified for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year, the U20 women’s team emulated them in style by securing their berth at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup.

After a 1-0 win over hosts Myanmar in their last match in Yangon, the young tigresses received a warm welcome upon their arrival in New Delhi on Monday morning.  The normally taciturn Swedish head coach Joakim Alexandersson, who had been training this bunch since his appointment last December, couldn’t control his emotions. 

‘’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,’’ Alexandersson told the AIFF media on arrival.

After the senior team and the U20 girls, all eyes will also be on the India U17 women’s team, who will aim to complete a hat-trick of Asian Cup qualifications for Indian women’s football this year. The U17 girls haven't competed at the Asian Cup since 2005, which means ending another two-decade-long wait will be on the cards.

They will play the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship, beginning on 20 August, as part of the preparations. The qualifiers will take place from 13-17 October where the Young Tigresses will face Uzbekistan and hosts Kyrgyz Republic.

It’s after a wait of two decades that the U20 team has made the cut and in the bargain, vanquished the demons of the past. In 2022, the senior side had to withdraw from the Asian Cup due to a Covid outbreak while the very next year, the U20 side were knocked out of the first round of the qualifiers by goal difference by Vietnam.

Redemption time

Winger Neha was one of the few players who returned disappointed from Vietnam two years ago and had an opportunity to redeem herself this time 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, he told me: Beta, go do something for Team India today, so I’m feeling very proud.”

After the on-pitch celebrations, Alexandersson gave a heartfelt speech addressed to the players and the staff. ‘’This is a very emotional moment for me because I saw how hard you were worked 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,’’ he added. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced a cash incentive of $ 25,000 for the team.