At Asian Cup 2022 camp, India’s women football players make all the right moves

The Indian women’s football team have been going through their paces at the national camp in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand in preparation for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

India is hosting the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in January 2022.

At a time when the pandemic continues to impact normal life, the football players are elated to be able to attend the camp.

The team toured Turkey and Uzbekistan, where they played Uzbekistan, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and other teams, earlier this year.

Read: AFC Cup 2021: Maziya S&RC 1-3 ATK Mohun Bagan - 4 things we learned

India is coached by Thomas Dennerby, a Swede with over 30 years of experience with several national squads.

The UEFA Pro Diploma Holder guided Sweden’s women to a third-place finish at the 2011 FIFA World Cup and the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics.

The 62-year-old was appointed coach of the Indian team earlier this month. He replaces Maymol Rocky, who stepped down in July due to personal reasons.

🗣️ @AshalataDevi4: Thankful to the Government of Jharkhand to host us during tough times 🙌Read 👉 https://t.co/2DcnsWWCzh#BackTheBlue 💙 #ShePower 👧 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/0vTr4ikyQh

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 22, 2021

India's football players elated to attend camp

Indian football team captain Ashalata Devi and her players are thankful for the chance to be able to attend the national camp.

In a statement to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Devi said:

“Keeping in mind the current pandemic situation in the world, it's not easy to set up such camps for any sporting events. We are extremely thankful that the Jharkhand government and AIFF have come together to arrange this camp for the team. We can only hope to move forward together in our preparation for the Asian Cup.”

Winger Sanju Yadav said the entire team is aware of the enormous challenge that lies ahead in the form of the AFC Cup. Yadav said:

“Being back in the camp feels absolutely great. Personally, I am even more elated as I am back after a long injury. But we are all aware of the massive task ahead of us, to get ready for the Asian Cup.”

She added:

“Everyone is motivated, and our new coach Thomas Dennerby has also been very helpful on and off the pitch. He has experience of coaching at the highest level, and we're all looking forward to learning as much as we can from him.”