The Young Tigresses concluded the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship with five wins and one loss.

Purnima Marma opened the scoring for Bangladesh in the first minute. India’s Anushka Kumari equalised in the ninth minute. However, Bangladesh regained the lead in the 34th minute when Alpi Akter scored, and extended it in the 48th minute through Sauravi Prity.

India pulled one back in the 65th minute with a strike from Pritika Barman, and equalised in the 89th through skipper Julan. Prity scored again in injury time, to give Bangladesh the win.

Bangladesh took the lead within 30 seconds of the kick off through Purnima Marma, finding the back of the net, marking the first goal the Young Tigresses conceded in the entire tournament. The clean sheet streak ended, but as the head coach had remarked earlier, “It’s not the end of the world.”

India responded swiftly in the ninth minute when Anushka Kumari broke into the box, went past the advancing goalkeeper and two defenders, finishing calmly to level the scores.

Bangladesh, however, restored their lead again in the 34th minute amid chaos in the Indian penalty box. Alpi Akter scored from close range to make it 2-1.

India had more opportunities to equalise. In the 24th minute, Anushka again burst into the box from the right flank but dragged her shot narrowly wide off the left post. Right before the half-time, India skipper Julan was fouled by Bangladesh’s Kulsum, earning a free-kick. Anushka stepped up but was again denied when her powerful strike rattled the post, adding to her frustration.

In the second half, Bangladesh extended their lead early again. In the 48th minute, Sauravi Prity ran into the Indian box and struck past two defenders and keeper Munni to make it 3-1.

India continued to create multiple chances, and in the 59th minute, a cross from Pritika Barman found Valaina, whose header went wide.

India pulled one back in the 65th minute when Pritika struck from the right flank, reducing the gap to 3-2. Pritika created further opportunities in the 67th and 69th minutes, but the Bangladesh defence and keeper prevented a goal.

India finally equalised in the 89th through Julan, with a shot from outside the box. However, Bangladesh regained the lead in the added time, when Prity scored the winning goal.

For her eight goals in six games, Anushka Kumari picked up the Top Goalscorer of the tournament award, her second such accolade after being the joint top-scorer in the SAFF U16 Women’s Championship last year. With four goals and three assists, Abhista Basnett bagged the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament Award.

The team will now travel to Bengaluru to continue preparations for the upcoming AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in October in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.

India U17 Women: Munni (GK), Taniya Devi Tonambam (Valaina Jada Fernandes 46’), Elizabed Lakra, Divyani Linda, Julan Nongmaithem (C), Anushka Kumari, Pearl Fernandes (Thandamoni Baskey 13’), Shveta Rani (Pritika Barman 46’), Abhista Basnett, Nira Chanu Longjam (Bonifilia Shullai 77’), Alisha Lyngdoh (Alena Devi Sarangthem 56’)

Credits: AIFF Media

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On Sunday, she scored her first hat-trick in the span of just 19 minutes against Bhutan in the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship. A sizzling free-kick into the roof of the net and two right-footed strikes that nestled into the bottom corner. A special talent is brewing in Indian women’s football.

It’s been brewing since before she was even a teenager. She started to play at the age of six, like how most kids in India do. “At first, I used to play casually at home. Watching my elder sisters go to play made me want to go out and play as well, so that’s how I began,” Anushka told AIFF.

When she was 11, she joined the Residential Girls Football Centre in Hazaribagh, around 80 kilometres from her hometown Rukka in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand.

“From then on, I kept moving forward. I played in the Sub Junior National Football Championship for Jharkhand. The scouts were present there. I performed my best, and from there, I was selected for the national camp,” said Anushka, whose mother is a labourer and runs the household after her father suffered a fractured leg and is unable to work anymore.

And just like that, Anushka found herself wearing the blue of India at the SAFF U16 Women’s Championship 2024 in Nepal. She was only 13 years old and emerged as the joint top-scorer of the tournament with five goals, scoring in every single match.

“Playing for India means a lot to me because there are so many players who attend trials from various places, and then only a few of us get selected. After that, it’s even more difficult to make it to the playing XI. So being here makes me feel really happy that out of so many players, I could make it through.”

But when India lost the final to Bangladesh on penalties, Anushka was left dejected. This wasn’t how her maiden foray into international football was supposed to be.

“When we went to play the SAFF last year, we couldn’t win the final. We felt really bad because we had worked so hard but still couldn’t get the trophy home. So this time (in Bhutan), we have come with the mindset to win the trophy and take it back with us.”

A diminutive but quick figure on the pitch, Anushka started out as an attacking midfielder before transitioning into a striker, while playing for Indian Arrows Women Juniors under Joakim Alexandersson during last season’s IWL 2. She was her team’s top-scorer with six goals, playing a big role in their runners-up finish and promotion to the IWL.

“The IWL 2 was a really good experience. Earlier, I did not know how to play as a striker. Coach Joakim put me in that role, and I learned how much a striker can contribute by scoring and helping the team. Whenever I get the ball, I have an eye for the goal. I learned a lot from playing in the league,” said Anushka.

Off the pitch, her father and elder brother are her biggest supporters. “They feel so proud when they see me playing, whether on TV or on the phone. It delights them by saying, ‘my daughter is playing or my sister is playing’. Whenever I need anything, I tell them, and they make sure I get it. So, I am really thankful to both of them.

“I have a lot of dreams. Going forward, I want to play for the U20s, and then the senior national team and help India win games. I want to keep scoring goals and, one day, take this team to the World Cup,” aspired Anushka.

For now, the immediate task in hand is to lift the SAFF U17 Women’s title on the August 31 in Thimphu. Her first hat-trick has only fuelled the fire even more as she chases her second consecutive top-scorer award. With five goals in three games, she leads the chart, closely followed by teammate Abhista Basnett at four. But as long as the team wins, it doesn’t matter whose boots the goals come from.

“My team always supports me well, and since it was my first hat-trick, I am really happy that I could perform well. We want to win the SAFF and then qualify for the U17 Asian Cup in October,” said Anushka.

With three wins in three, the Young Tigresses are flying in Bhutan so far. They will face the hosts again on Wednesday, August 27, at the Changlimithang Stadium at 17:30 IST. The match will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube Channel.

Ahead of the fourth match of the competition, head coach Joakim Alexandersson said, “It’s been great to see many different goalscorers so far. We had a recovery session on Monday and a solid hour of training today (Tuesday). Our starts haven’t been the best so far, so we are more focused and concentrated on what we want to do with the ball right from the beginning. Our defence has been decently good, but there are still things to improve.”

Credits: AIFF Media

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You sit on the other side of the table and realise the very first minute itself that you are actually on the wrong side. Soft spoken as she is, it is quite a task to hear what Kamala Devi speaks. You pull a chair nearby, but nothing much changes.

Quite contrarily, you mention about her being a ‘character of the opposite on the field.’ Kamala smiles and the next moment you curse yourself — maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned it. Kamala has gone softer, leaving you no option to pull the chair again.

“As a senior player, it’s an extra responsibility,” she states. “There are the younger girls looking up to you and you cannot let them down,” Kamala, who first played for India in 2008 in the U-19 AFC Championship in Kuala Lumpur mentions.

“We stayed in this same hotel,” Kamala waves around in the banquet hall.

She goes numb after that, you look up and she smiles.

“There was a lot of obstacles during childhood. My parents never allowed me to play and I was kept reminded that Football is a sport not for girls,” she speaks head down. “But I was stubborn enough and continued to play.”

‘But aren’t they proud of you?’

“They are no more in this World. My dad passed away long back while my mom left us three months back. Off-course they were very proud of me. I presently live with my mausi,” she informs.

Goalkeeping coach Ronibala Devi describes Kamala as a very “hard working player.”

“On and off the field, she is very disciplined. She is in fact, the perfect role model for other girls. And she speaks very softly,” we all smiled together, including Kamala.

“It was during the National Games in Manipur (1999) that I came to know that a Women’s Team also exists in every state. People used to hear commentary on radio and I as a small kid used to sit and hear too. Bem-di (Bem Bem Devi), Chouba-ojha (Chaoba Devi – the present Assistant Coach of the Senior National Women’s Team) were all part of that Manipur team.

Sitting next, Chaoba’s eyes lit up. “That was quite a tournament.”

“She is a very skilful player. I feel she has been blessed with all the qualities a striker should possess,” Chouba certifies later.

During her initial days, however, Kamala started as a winger. “In one of the Camps Jabbar-Sir (Shahid Jabbar) shifted me as a striker. It made me more confident as a player.”

“The more you play at the international level, the more confident you grow. You learn to work on your speed, combination, communication. This exposure tour cannot have come at a better time for us,” Kamala Devi opines.

“We are raring to go. Maymol-Maam (Maymol Rocky, the current Indian Senior Women’s Team Coach) has been a huge inspiration for us and we want to give her a gift,” Kamala Devi echoes.

“I play cricket and love to play sepak takraw as well. It’s so exciting,” you can now hear Kamala from a distance. “In Manipur, the sociological focus is mostly on sports. You are encouraged to play and you will see kids playing all over. When I first started playing with the boys, I was rebuked a bit, but at the end of the first day, there was respect,” she recollects. “The boys have since then, been a huge support, encouraging me to continue playing.”

At the training session, she is one of the firsts to hit the ground. “Idhar, idhar, she shouts to the others who are walking in. The others, still quite a distance far, hears and starts to jog to Kamala’s side. You wonder — it was quite a task to hear her speak sitting next. A Footballer always has two characters – on and off the field.

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The Indian Women’s Team arrived in Kuala Lumpur today (July 27) morning to play two back to- back International Friendlies against Malaysia. Both the matches have been arranged by the All India Football Federation to provide more exposure to the Indian Senior Women’s Team.

The first match is slated for July 29 while the second one is to be played on July 31. The Team headed to Kuala Lumpur on the back of a 12-day Camp in Delhi.

Head Coach Maymol Rocky, the first-ever Woman Coach of an Indian Senior National Team informed that the entire squad is “looking forward to the two matches.”

“The two matches will provide the girls valuable match experience which will help them in the future. An International match adds to your confidence and the entire squad is looking forward to it,” she said.

“I need to thank the AIFF for the two International Friendlies. Women’s Football in India has been on a high with the inaugural edition of the Indian Women’s League being a huge hit earlier this year,” she added. “That has added to the confidence of the girls as well.”

Striker Bala Devi, who has been declared the Captain rated Malaysia as a “strong opponent.”

“They are a strong team. But we need to play better than them, and we will try our best,” she stated. “We have practised very hard and are raring to go.”

“It’s nice to be training under Maymol-Ma’am. Though there is always that comfort level with her, she has always been a hard task master. But we are not complaining as we understand that she wants us to be better players.”

“The two matches will help us immensely and I need to thank the AIFF for providing us such an exposure tour,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ashalata Devi has been named the vice-captain.

The 22-member squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Panthoi Chanu, Roshini Devi.

DEFENDERS: Ashalata Devi, Manisa Panna, Umapati Devi, Dalima Chhibber, Radharani Devi, Jabamani Tudu, Tony Devi.

MIDFIELDERS: Premi Devi, Prameshori Devi, Lochana Munda, Sanju, Mandakini Devi, Ritu Rani, Bindyarani Devi.

STRIKERS: Bala Devi, Kamala Devi, Anju Tamang, Dangmei Grace, Pyari Xaxa, Kashmina.

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India is placed in Group B alongside Malaysia, Philippines, Northern Marina Islands and Heavy weights Korea Republic. Indian would have to be at the top of its game if they are going to challenge Malaysia or Korea opined head Coach Maymol Rocky.

Maymol had said, “There is no room for complacency. The girls are like rough diamonds. They have the potential to go a long way, but they need to work hard in order to evolve”

The Indian eves will face Philippines in their opening match of the AFC U-16 Qualifiers on August 28, 2016, before taking on Malaysia, Northern Mariana Islands and Korea Republic on September 01, 03, and 05, respectively.

Each team from the Top of its respective group table would qualify for the finals. DPR Korea, China, Japan and Thailand have been already fixed their spots based on the last edition final standings.

The 20-member squad list follows below:

GOALKEEPERS: Monika Devi (Manipur), Arumugam Archana (Tamil Nadu), Laxmita Reang (Tripura)

DEFENDERS: Santi Murmu (Odisha), Janaki Murmu (Odisha), Ashila Chanu (Manipur), Samiksha (Haryana), Anjali Barua (Odisha), Laxmi Kumari (Jharkhand)

MIDFIELDERS: Grace Lalrampari (Mizoram), Sanathokpi Devi (Manipur), Offee Lalhmingchhuapuil (Mizoram), Bannya Kabiraj (Odisha), Karishma Rai (Sikkim)

FORWARDS: Thailand Devi (Manipur), Babysana Devi (Manipur), Bawitlung Vanlalhriattiri (Mizoram), Bhagyashree Dalvi (Maharashtra), Renu (Haryana), Soumya Guguloth (Telangana)

HEAD COACH: Maymol Rocky

Indian fixtures:

August 28: India vs. Philippines

September 01: India vs. Malaysia

September 03: India vs. Northern Marina Islands

September 05: India vs. Korea Republic

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