Kolkata: With one key player out injured and another joining last week, India start in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup against Vietnam in Perth on Wednesday hoping to live down memories of the last edition and stay in the hunt for a 2027 World Cup berth.
“In life there are no coincidences, so we are back to prove ourselves again,” said head coach Amelia Valverde at Tuesday’s pre-match media conference in Perth. Valverde was replying to whether the players would try to redeem themselves after being scratched from the last edition in 2022, which India had hosted, because of a Covid-19 outbreak. Eight players in Australia including skipper Sweety Devi were part of that side.
In a separate message to HT, Valverde said that having qualified for the first time on merit, she told the players that “the occasion should not be bigger than our preparation. If we focus on our responsibilities and our identity as a team, then the tournament becomes an opportunity, not something overwhelming.”
Japan and Chinese Taipei are also in India’s group. Former world and Asian champions Japan start every tournament as one of the favourites and Chinese Taipei came close to World Cup qualification in 2022, she said.
“Vietnam are a very experienced team with a generation that has already played at the World Cup. We know it will be a demanding match, and we must be ready to compete with intensity and focus,” said Valverde.
Vietnam head coach Mai Duc Chung is 77 and has been in charge since 1997, the last World Cup being the high point of a glowing career in management with the country’s men’s and women’s teams. Valverde, 39, has been part of two World Cup finals as Costa Rica head coach and has coached in the top tier of Lia MX Femenil in Mexico. She was appointed last January.
Anju Tamang’s anterior cruciate ligament injury dealt India a heavy blow ahead of the 12-team competition. The first choice No.10 was in form in the club friendlies India played in Turkiye and Australia where they were the first team to reach, on February 11. The squad left India on January 15.
“She is a very experienced player with great qualities,” said Valverde. “But more than that, she is an important figure in the group. So the impact is also emotional. What I see, though, is that the team has responded with unity and responsibility. And now the focus is on supporting her from a distance and ensuring the team continues competing in the best possible way.”
Dangmei Grace, Pyari Xaxa, Sanfida Nongrum and Rimpa Haldar can replace Tamang; Grace’s experience of 91 international matches makes her the frontrunner.
Manisha Kalyan, 24, who recently joined Allianz Lima in the Peruvian top division, reached last Thursday at the start of the international break. “When a player joins later… there is an adaptation process, physically and tactically, because the team has been working together for much more than when she joined,” said Valverde.
But she is an experienced player and has the capacity to adjust quickly, she said. Barring Kalyan and 22-year-old Aveka Singh, who is with the Danish first division club Naestved HG, everyone in the 26-member squad plays at home. IWL champions East Bengal have eight players, the most from one club.
The top two from each of the three groups will qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams meaning goal difference can play a crucial part. The top six teams, including winners of the matches between losing quarter-finalists, get direct World Cup berths. The seventh and eighth teams go to an inter-confederation play-off.
Creditable though India’s qualification was by beating higher-ranked Thailand in Thailand, getting out of the group will be tough. At 67, India are ranked above only Iran and Bangladesh in this 12-team competition. Runners-up in 1980, India have lost seven of their last nine matches in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and twice against Vietnam though the teams have not met since 2003. But the mood is positive and we have worked hard over the past five weeks, said Valverde.
