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Veteran striker returns as India announce 22-member women's football squad for Asian Games 2023
India, ranked 61 in the FIFA rankings, are clubbed with Chinese Taipei (ranked 38th) and Thailand (ranked 46th) in Group B.
Ex-skipper and star striker Bala Devi made a return to the national side after a gap of four years as head coach Thomas Dennerby named a 22-member Indian women's football squad for the upcoming Asian Games. She last played for India in the South Asian Games in Kathmandu in 2019.
Bala Devi will bring in a ton of experience having played at the international level since 2005. The striker has scored 36 times for India in 46 appearances. Her striking abilities also helped her become one of the few footballers from the country to play for a European side.
She was recruited by Scottish Women's Premier League club Rangers in 2020 on an 18-month contract. She scored twice in the nine appearances she made for the Scottish side, making her the first Indian woman to play and score a goal in European competitions. She scored her maiden Rangers goal in the Scottish league encounter against Motherwell on December 2020, which the former won 9-0.
However, an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury and the surgery which followed cut short her time at Rangers, and she had to enter an extensive rehabilitation process.
Bala Devi has been named the AIFF Women’s Player of the Year three times.
Bala Devi is currently with Odisha FC in the Indian Women’s League having penned a one-year contract.
Format of the competition
India, ranked 61 in the FIFA rankings, are clubbed with Chinese Taipei (ranked 38th) and Thailand (ranked 46th) in Group B.
A total of 17 teams, divided into five groups, are in fray. Groups A, B, and C have three teams each, while Groups D and E have four teams apiece. The five group winners and three best second-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals.
The women's football tournament at the Asian Games is contested between the full senior national teams, with no age restrictions.
The Indian Women's Team have participated in the Asian Games twice previously – Bangkok 1998 and Incheon 2014.
Indian Women's Football Squad for the 19th Asian Games:
Goalkeepers: Shreya Hooda, Sowmiya Narayanasamy, Panthoi Chanu.
Defenders: Ashalata Devi, Sweety Devi, Ritu Rani, Dalima Chhibber, Astam Oraon, Sanju, Ranjana Chanu.
Midfielders: Sangita Basfore, Priyangka Devi, Indumathi Kathiresan, Anju Tamang, Soumya Guguloth, Dangmei Grace.
Forwards: Pyari Xaxa, Jyoti, Renu, Bala Devi, Manisha, Sandhiya Ranganathan.
Head Coach: Thomas Dennerby.
