Head coach Maymol Rocky announced the 23 members of India’s Under-20 women’s squad for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 1 to be played in Vietnam in March. The young Blue Tigresses will face the hosts Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia in Group F. The qualifiers have been divided into eight groups from which only the winners from each group will progress to Round 2.
From there, the four best sides will earn a spot in the Finals where they will join the three highest seeds from the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship Thailand 2019 in which Japan are the champion joined by DPR Korea and Korea Republic and host nation Uzbekistan. Round 1 of the Qualifiers will be played on March 4-12, 2023 with Round 2 scheduled for June 1-11. The Finals are on March 3 to 16, 2024.
Preparation
Indian Under-20 women’s national side will not be joyous for certain about their preparation. The team yielded poor results at the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship played only last month, not even making it to the final of the tournament. That too with players who competed in last year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup hosted in India. The beginning of the campaign was full of goals as India put dozens of goals in the back of Bhutan’s net but it was against Bangladesh and Nepal that the cracks in the team opened up. India drew 0-0 with the hosts in the second before the frustrating collapse in the second half against Nepal in the final game after Apurna Narzary gave them the lead in the first period. The game ended 3-1 which went down as a shock although it was the wake-up call the team needed to improve and prepare more strongly for the all-important qualifiers.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Monalisha, Anshika and Anjali.
Defenders: Astam Oraon, Shilky Devi, Linda Chanu, Shubhangi Singh, Purnima Kumari, Varshika and Sahena TH.
Midfielders: Martina Thokchom, Kajol Dsouza, Babina Devi, Nitu Linda, Tania Kanti, Shailja.
Forwards: Lynda Kom, Apurna Narzary, Sunita Munda, Sumati Kumari, Neha, Mousumi Murmu and Anita Kumari
Coach: Maymol Rocky
The core of the group from the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship has remained intact with some new faces being introduced. Maymol Rocky has said introducing players who have never won a national shirt will bring in the bustling spirit of any newcomer and push the regulars in the squad. The team almost had a three-week camp in Chennai alongside the senior national women’s team after returning from Bangladesh. They played some practice matches with the seniors in preparation for the qualifiers.
Fixtures
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
India vs Singapore - Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho Province (1:30 PM)
Thursday, 9 March 2023
Indonesia vs India - Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho Province (1:30 PM)
Saturday, 11 March 2023
Vietnam vs India - Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho Province (4:30 PM)
Note: All timings are in Indian Standard Time (IST)
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