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Indian women’s football team’s Asian Cup exit doesn’t tell the story of their rise

To expect India to suddenly rout top-class teams is irrational. It only happens in video games.

Indian women’s football team bowed out of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia after finishing at the bottom of Group C with zero points. The team, which qualified for the tournament on merit after 23 years, conceded 16 goals and scored just twice in three matches. But the 3-1 defeat to Chinese Taipei doesn’t capture the rise of the Indian women’s football team.

It’s a horrendous performance on paper, especially when Japan netted 11 past the Indian goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam, and Chinese Taipei secured an easy, gifted victory due to the silly defensive errors. 

But, there’s a bigger picture we are missing — the progress of India’s women’s football team. All the teams — Japan, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei — that India faced in the group stage are ranked higher than the Blues and enjoy a better sporting ecosystem in their respective countries.

In 2011, the Japanese women’s team defeated the United States in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and lifted the trophy. This victory made Japan the first Asian team to win a senior FIFA World Cup. They........

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