{"id":2034,"date":"2024-10-17T09:22:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T03:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/?p=2034"},"modified":"2024-10-17T09:22:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T03:52:54","slug":"saff-womens-champs-ashalata-devi-confident-india-can-win-trophy-despite-tough-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/2024\/10\/17\/saff-womens-champs-ashalata-devi-confident-india-can-win-trophy-despite-tough-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"SAFF Women’s Champ’s: Ashalata Devi Confident India Can Win Trophy Despite Tough Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The very promise of an India-Pakistan clash in the sporting arena is always a mouth-watering prospect, no matter which the discipline is.<\/p>\n

There is one in the offing on Thursday, October 17, 2024, when India take on Pakistan in the Group A league tie of the SAFF Women\u2019s Championship 2024 at the iconic Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. The stadium has been the stage for countless memorable sporting moments; the battle on Thursday will be yet another feather in its cap. The match will be streamed live on FanCode from 5.15 pm, IST.<\/p>\n

The match will also be a glorious moment in the dazzling career of seasoned Blue Tigresses defender and skipper Ashalata Devi, who will become India\u2019s first woman footballer to play 100 international matches. Ashalata is all focused on the game and has set her goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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India National Women’s Football Team.\u00a0Photo: X | Indian Football<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The quality of football has improved immensely in the region but the Indian team is equipped to win the SAFF Women’s Championship, senior defender Ashalata Devi said on Wednesday as the side gears up to take on arch-rivals Pakistan in its tournament opener.<\/p>\n

While India holds the advantage in\u00a0terms of\u00a0historical success and current FIFA rankings, Pakistan will be aiming to upset the odds and stage a spirited challenge.<\/p>\n

For Pakistan, the focus will be on resilience and putting up a\u00a0much\u00a0stronger fight than in previous encounters against India. With players like Maria Khan leading the charge and Nadia Khan, who will make a comeback after a year from her injury, will definitely be no pushovers.<\/p>\n

Skipper Maria Khan is an experienced midfielder who plays for Saudi Arabian pro side Eastern Flames. Two other Pakistan players, goalkeeper Rumaysa Khan and striker Isra Khan, play in Canada and the United States, respectively.<\/p>\n

Pakistan Head coach\u00a0Adeel Rizki said, \u201dI think it will be an interesting match, India have prepared well. They have a new coach as well, so they have new strategies, we don\u2019t know what to expect. It\u2019s a good rivalry. We respect them in terms of how they play and what they\u2019ve done in the past. On the other hand, we have done well and have grown a lot from last time. We hope we can perform and have a good game against India tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clash against Pakistan on Thursday assumes significance because Ashalata will become India’s first woman footballer to play 100 international matches when she takes the field at the iconic Dasarath Stadium on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ashalata said the first game always sets the tone, and a strong start will help them play freely in the following matches. The last time the two teams clashed, India had emerged a 3-0 winner.<\/p>\n

India are clubbed with Bangladesh and Pakistan in Group A, while hosts Nepal are drawn in Group B with Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. After an intense three-week camp in Goa, the team will leave for Kathmandu on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.<\/p>\n

The Blue Tigresses will begin their campaign with a match against Pakistan on October 17, followed by the concluding group stage tie against defending champions Bangladesh. Both matches will kick off at 5.15 pm, IST.<\/p>\n

While both semi-finals are on October 27, the final is on October 30.<\/p>\n

The squad:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Goalkeepers:<\/strong>\u00a0Payal Ramesh Basude, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Linthoingambi Devi Maibam.<\/p>\n

Defenders:<\/strong>\u00a0Ashalata Devi Loitongbam, Shilky Devi Hemam, Juli Kishan, Ranjana Chanu Sorokhaibam, Sanju, Dalima Chhibber, Aruna Bag, Linthoingambi Devi Wangkhem.<\/p>\n

Midfielders:<\/strong>\u00a0Anju Tamang, Priyangka Devi Naorem, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu.<\/p>\n

Forwards:<\/strong>\u00a0Rimpa Haldar, Grace Dangmei, Soumya Guguloth, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Manisha, Jyoti, Ngangom Bala Devi.<\/p>\n

Head coach:<\/strong>\u00a0Santosh Kashyap
\nAssistant coach:<\/strong>\u00a0Priya PV
\nGoalkeeper coach:<\/strong>\u00a0Lourembam Ronibala Chanu<\/p>\n

SAFF Women\u2019s Championship 2024, Nepal: October 17 to 30, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group A:\u00a0<\/strong>India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
\nGroup B:<\/strong>\u00a0Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan<\/p>\n

India\u2019s Group A fixtures:<\/strong>
\nOctober 17:\u00a0<\/strong>Pakistan vs India (5.15 pm IST)
\nOctober 23:<\/strong>\u00a0India vs Bangladesh (5.15 pm IST)<\/p>\n

Semi-finals:<\/strong>
\nOctober 27:<\/strong>\u00a0Group A winners vs Group B runners-up (1.15 pm IST); Group B winners vs Group A runners-up (5.15 pm, IST).<\/p>\n

Final:<\/strong>\u00a0October 30 (5.15 pm, IST).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The very promise of an India-Pakistan clash in the sporting arena is always a mouth-watering prospect, no matter which the discipline is. There is one in the offing on Thursday, October 17, 2024, when India take on Pakistan in the Group A league tie of the SAFF Women\u2019s Championship 2024 at the iconic Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. The stadium has been the stage for countless memorable sporting moments; the battle on Thursday will be yet another feather in its cap. The match will be streamed live on FanCode from 5.15 pm, IST. The match will also be a glorious moment in the dazzling career of seasoned Blue Tigresses defender and … Continue reading “SAFF Women’s Champ’s: Ashalata Devi Confident India Can Win Trophy Despite Tough Competition”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":2035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[775,14],"tags":[1127,1134,1128,1133,1130,1135,1131,1126,1132,1129],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2036,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions\/2036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}