Coming on the back of the recently concluded Hero Gold Cup in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the Indian Senior National Women’s Team left for the Turkish Women’s Cup which kicks-off from February 27.

The tournament is part of the Indian women’s preparation for the AFC Olympic Qualifiers Round 2 to be held in April, as well as the Senior Women’s SAFF Championship slated for March.

The women head into the Turkish Women’s Cup having played seven International matches since January, and are guaranteed of another 4 International matches in the Turkish Women’s Cup, where India have been clubbed with Uzbekistan, Romania and Turkmenistan in the group phase.

“In Turkey, we will be playing against Romania and Uzbekistan, both of whom are high-quality teams, and ranked higher than us,” Head Coach Maymol Rocky said.

“It is wonderful to get such an opportunity to play against such sides as it will help the girls gain valuable experience. It will enable us to see where we stand against such top sides,” she added.

“It will be a good challenge for the whole team as they will play in a high-pressure environment. This will help them develop into better players. We will look to improve on our finishing as a team and work on our game plans and strategies,” she informed.

“We have never played such a tournament before and I would like to thank the AIFF for organising this and providing us such a valuable opportunity in our quest to qualify from Round 2,” she maintained.

India Women’s Squad

Goalkeepers
Aditi Chauhan, M Linthongambi Devi, Sowmiya Narayansamy

Defenders
L Ashalata Devi, NG Sweety Devi, Jabamani Tudu, Dalima Chhibber, Lako Phuti, Michel M Castanha, Yumlembam Pakpi Devi

Midfielders
Sangita Basfore, Sanju Yadav, Sumithra Kamaraj, Indumathi Kathiresan, Ranjana Chanu, Manisha, Grace H Lalrampari, Sanathokpi Devi

Forwards
Roja Devi, Anju Tamang, Ratanbala Devi, Dangmei Grace, Renu, Sandhiya Ranganathan

Reserves
Crystal Pinto (Goalkeeper), K Tony Devi (Defender)

Turkish Women’s Cup 2019 – India’s Fixtures

February 27: India vs Uzbekistan
March 1: Turkmenistan vs India
March 3: Romania vs India
March 5: Play-off matches including Final

(AIFF Media)