Sruti Chakraborty
AIFF Media Team

KATHMANDU, NEPAL: India's victory over Pakistan always brings unique joy, but yesterday's 5-2 win at the Dasarath Stadium was extraordinary. There were countless reasons to celebrate and it was emotional in many ways. 

Ashalata Devi earned her 100th cap for the national team, Bala Devi scored her milestone 50th international goal, Dangmei Grace netted two brilliant goals, and Manisha's perfectly timed strike sent waves of exhilaration through the stadium. And then there was Jyoti Chouhan, scoring her debut goal on the international stage. Together, they made history and brought the entire nation together in celebration.

India made a rousing start to their SAFF Women’s Championship 2024 campaign defeating Pakistan in the Group A opener on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

As the national anthem of India played before kick off, Bala Devi was seen with tears in her eyes. "I got very emotional during the national anthem because it had been a long time since I last represented India," she shared after the match.

Having scored her 50th international goal in the 35th minute, Bala dedicated the achievement to her late father, who passed away a few months ago. "This goal is for my father," she said. "Though he is no longer with me, I know he would be proud of me today."

Player of the Match Grace Dangmei, who scored twice in the 5th and 42nd minutes, said, "I'm happy to score the first goal of the SAFF Women's Championship 2024. I want to dedicate it to our entire team and staff members. We have been working hard for the past month. The coach told us to play an attacking game. There were some minor errors, like mispasses. We stayed focussed on our attack."

Jyoti Chouhan, who scored her debut goal for India in the 78th minute, said, "I am really happy and satisfied with my performance. My father had a dream that someday I would get to wear the Indian colours and score for the country, which I did yesterday. I came on as a substitute but was ready to give it my all in whatever time I got. When I entered the pitch, I just prayed for a goal, and it happened within seconds. The header I took was risky, but I did not think about anything and went all in.

Head Coach Santosh Kashypap said a few words to the girls before the match: "Be brave and attack." His girls did exactly that.

"I think it was a great start. The players performed as per expectations, and it's very encouraging that we got the first goal from Grace, which was a big advantage. We had planned to press from the beginning and aimed for quick goals, and we managed to get four. After that, there was some relaxation on our part, and Pakistan managed to score a penalty, giving them a little boost and a few good moments.

After we led 4-1, they put us under some good pressure, coming very close to scoring twice, but we saved those goals. Otherwise, it could have been a difficult situation for us. Jyoti's fantastic start was crucial in keeping the gap big at 5-2, which brought their morale down. We then made some changes to the strikers and wingers to put more pressure on them, but unfortunately, we couldn't increase the margin," Coach Kashyap said after the match.

"There was a lot of pressure. Bala, being a senior, did her job in the first half by scoring a fantastic 50th goal. Grace also put in a lot of effort, scoring two goals and earning the player of the match. But as the game went on, fatigue set in, so I had to bring in fresh legs. Sandhya and Soumya, who are very talented, along with Jyoti, helped relieve the pressure on our defence by putting it back on the opponents. Aruna and Linthoi did an excellent job defending in the midfield," he added.

Manisha, who recently joined AC PAOK in Greece, returned just two days ago to rejoin the national team. Known for her speed and attacking skills, she showed her talent brilliantly in the 17th minute yesterday by scoring India's second goal.

"We played well against Pakistan, and the goals were a team effort during crucial moments. We did let in two goals due to some mistakes, but we will fix those in the next match. I am returning after a few months from Greece, and I have gained more muscle and improved my first touches. My vision on the field is better, and I can see more options when attacking, which happened yesterday.

“Anju passed the ball to Bala Di, who then set it up for me. It was the result of practicing short passes and combination play, just as the coach had emphasised to us," Manisha said post match.

India will face Bangladesh next on October 23, 2024. But there's no time to rest. The Blue Tigresses got back to work this morning with a gym session, followed by training in the evening. With just five days to prepare, they are gearing up for the next challenge before heading straight into the semi-final on October 28, 2024.

"We are going one game at a time. We are happy with the result, but there’s still a lot to improve in the style of play we want to adopt. We have almost a week to prepare, and I am confident our performance will be better.

“As for areas to improve, we will be focusing on attacking, defending, and transitions. These are the parameters I will use to teach players our style of play. The first match is always challenging, and we will work on fine-tuning these aspects in the days leading up to the next game against Bangladesh," Coach Kashyap said.