The Indian women’s football team ended their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 journey on a down note as they finished without a win and a point after a 3-1 loss against Chinese Taipei at the Western Sydney Stadium on Tuesday, 10 March. Although they played with a lot of heart in their last Group C game, the “Blue Tigresses” unfortunately fell victim to their defensive errors and a bit of bad luck which led to their elimination from the tournament.
Currently placed 67th in the FIFA rankings, India came into the match with a lot of energy as a win was the only way to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, although very thin. However, 40th ranked Chinese Taipei got the lead in the 12th minute when Su Yu-hsuan took advantage of a defensive mistake by Sanju.
India kept fighting and Manisha Kalyan was the main force behind the attacks. Earlier in the half, Manisha had a shot from quite a distance that went off the crossbar but she was the player who eventually put the scores level for India in the 39th minute. Her free-kick from a great distance was quite daring and without the defense realizing it, the ball went in, bringing new energy to the Indian team.
Unfortunately, things changed for the worse in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time. Pyari Xaxa’s handball inside the box gave Chinese Taipei their first penalty. Hsu Yi-yun’s spot-kick hit the post, the ball then rebounding off the back of Indian goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu eventually crossed the line. The own goal enabled Chinese Taipei to regain the lead a few seconds before the final whistle.
The second half was still a matter of both teams seeking chances. Panthoi Chanu was the heroine for India making several lifesaving stops. However, the defense gave way for the third time in the 77th minute. Wu Kai-ching found a weakness in the Indian defense and delivered a through ball to Chen Yu-chin, who went around Chanu and netted the goal.
The 3-1 score-line meant India finished at the bottom of Group C, which was led by the tournament heavyweights Japan. In fact, besides the loss to Chinese Taipei, India had been beaten 2-1 by Vietnam and a humiliating 11-0 by Japan. This was the first time since 2003 that the Indian team had participated in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil however remains a dream for now.
