THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

Taking inspiration from fellow brothers, India U-15 girls ready for SAFF challenge

India U-15 Women's national team (Photo courtesy: AIFF Media)

They say: ‘To be inspired is great, but to inspire is incredible.”

For the Indian U-15 Women’s National Team currently gearing up for the SAFF U-15 Championship in Thimpu, the inspiration has come from their fellow brothers-in-arms in Spain and Jordan — the Indian U-20 and U-16 National Teams.

The buzz after the Indian U-16s defeated Yemen 3-0 yesterday was latched on immediately by the girls, filling their hearts with pride and zeal ahead of their opening clash of the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship against Sri Lanka tomorrow (August 9).

“We have been following them and we take immense pride in our brothers. At the same time, they inspire us to give our cent percent on the field when we will play,” said Avika Singh.

“Our Bhai-log have shown the world that we Indians belong to the highest stage in World football and now it is our chance to showcase the same.”

The 2-1 victory over Argentina U-20 has in fact, brought an immense sense of pride among the entire contingent along with the U-16 registering a 1-0 victory over current U-16 Asian champions Iraq.

“We could not believe it that India defeated Argentina. As Indians, we were so proud of our brothers,” Shilky Devi smiled. “It is beyond incredible what our brothers have achieved in foreign lands.”

The Indian U-15 girls have been drawn in Group A of the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship alongside hosts Bhutan and Sri Lanka. While the Indian eves face Sri Lanka on August 9, 2018, they square off against the hosts on August 13, 2018.

This will be the second edition of the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship, the earlier one held in 2017 in Dhaka where the Indian girls finished runners-up to hosts Bangladesh.

(AIFF Media)