The India U19 Women’s National Team will be out to break a voodoo on the artificial turf of BSSSMK Stadium on Thursday when they meet hosts Bangladesh in the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship 2024 final.
Despite marked improvement in women’s football, India somehow hold a dismal record in this age group in SAFF. The title has eluded India on more than one occasion, the latest example being the SAFF U20 Women’s Championship in Dhaka last year, when Bangladesh pipped India to win the trophy.
Thursday’s final will definitely be a huge opportunity for India to put past records on the burner and retain the title. The Young Tigresses will certainly enter the final match with a strong determination to seize the championship title and set the records straight from the Indian perspective.
In the group stage, India won comfortably against Bhutan (10-0) and Nepal (4-0) but lost against Bangladesh by a solitary goal to enter the final as the second-place finishers in the group. Apart from having a tight defence and a balanced midfield, India enjoy good attacking qualities with forwards Pooja and Sulanjana Raul andwingers Neha and Sibani Devi putting up a commendable show.
Well, despite all the positive signs, it will definitely not be easy to topple the hosts, who beat India in the group league earlier this week. No one knows it better than India’s head coach, Sukla Dutta.
“I’m truly not pleased that India have been losing to Bangladesh for the past three years, but tomorrow will be the time to change that. I am sure both teams will put in equal efforts, but the team who score first will likely emerge champion, as the confidence to score more will start from there,” she said ahead of the Bangladesh clash.