India’s new head coach Langam Chaoba Devi announced her first 23-member squad for the Turkish Women's Cup tournament on Sunday, 18 February 2024. The competition is set to be hosted in Alanya, Turkey, from February 21 to 27, 2024. The team will leave for Turkey on Monday after a week-long camp in Bangalore. The women’s national team will play for the first time since the second round of AFC Olympic Qualifiers played in October last year.
The Turkish Women's Cup 2024 will be played in a round-robin format. The first-placed team after six matches will be crowned champions. Estonia and Kosovo from UEFA and Hong Kong from AFC are the opponents of Blue Tigresses. India are the highest ranked nation, 69, to participate in the tournament while Kosovo are the lowest, ranked 100.
History
India had participated in the tournament twice before in 2019 and 2021. In their debut participation, the Blue Tigresses finished sixth after losing against Kazakhstan on penalties, following a goalless draw, for the fifth place match. They came third in their group and managed to get a win in the tournament with a massive 10-0 victory over Turkmenistan.
India lost every game in the next edition facing some tough opposition in the ranks. Starting with a 2-0 loss against Serbia, they face a 8-0 demolition in the hands of Russia. Despite managing to score in the final match, the Blue Tigresses suffered a last-minute heartbreaking defeat to Ukraine in the 3-2 result.
India Squad for Turkish Women’s Cup
Goalkeepers: Shreya Hooda, Panthoi Chanu, Monalisha Devi
Defenders: Ashalata Devi, Ranjana Chanu, Dalima Chhibber, Juli Kishan, Astam Oraon, Shilky Devi Hemam.
Midfielders: Anju Tamang, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu, Manisha Kalyan, Kajol D’ Souza, Indumathi Kathiresan.
Forwards: Grace Dangmei, Soumya Guguloth, Karishma Shirvoikar, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Sanju, Pyari Xaxa, Kaviya Pakkirisamy, Jyoti.
Head coach: Langam Chaoba Devi
Players like Anju Tamang, Grace Dangmei, Pyari Xaxa, Indumathi Kathiresan, etc. have experience of playing the tournament in both the occasions. Kaviya Pakkirisamy and Kajol D’ Souza have earned their debut national call-up.
India's fixtures at the Turkish Women's Cup 2024
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
India vs Estonia (19:00)
Saturday, 24 February 2024
India vs Hong Kong (19:00)
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Kosovo vs India (16:00)
India will begin their campaign against 98th ranked Estonia, who are making their second appearance in the Turkish Women’s Cup, on Wednesday, 21 February 2024. Three days later, fellow Asian nation Hong Kong will be their opponents before facing Kosovo in the final match.
Note: All Timings are in Indian Standard Time (IST)
