While the Men struggle, India’s Women quietly script a golden chapter in football history

The Blue Tigresses scripted history by securing a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 (AIFF Photo)

Under the floodlights of the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai (Thailand), a new chapter in Indian women’s football was etched — one that had been years in the making, fueled by heartbreak, resilience, and belief. The Blue Tigresses rose to the occasion, scripting history by securing a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 on merit, their first-ever qualification through the traditional route.

It’s a moment of immense pride for Indian football. And yet, one that’s telling in its contrast. While the spotlight has often favoured the Indian men’s team footballers, with their prime-time fixtures, lucrative ISL contracts, the Blue Tigresses have been quietly rising, away from the glare, but closer to the goal.

This triumph in Thailand is no flash in the pan. The Indian women’s team hadn’t qualified for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup through competition in over two decades, the last such instance dating back to 2003, when qualifiers didn’t even exist. In 2022, they were back on the big stage, but only as hosts, and even then, fate had the final say as a COVID outbreak forced an early exit. This time, it’s all them. Earned, not offered. And that makes the moment even sweeter.

Meanwhile, the Indian men’s team, with significantly greater infrastructure, funding, and fanfare is faltering in their own qualifying campaign for the AFC Asian Cup 2027. Two games into the qualifiers, they are yet to register a win. A tame draw against Bangladesh in the opener, followed by a disappointing loss to Hong Kong, has left them scrambling for answers. The last time they won a competitive game was all the way back in November 2023 against Kuwait.

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This isn’t to pit one team against another, but to ask a necessary question: why does the disparity in investment, attention, and appreciation continue to persist?

The numbers speak volumes. While men’s footballers in India command some of the highest salaries in the country’s sporting landscape, thanks in large part to the ISL’s commercial boom, the women still struggle to make a decent living. They play in tournaments that rarely get televised, let alone celebrated. Yet, it is this very group that punched above its weight.

Led by a heroic brace from Sangita Basfore, India’s women outplayed hosts Thailand in a must-win qualifier — a side they had never beaten before — to top their group and book a seat on the plane to Australia. With this win, they didn’t just shatter Thai hopes but dismantled old narratives about Indian football’s global ambitions being solely tied to the men’s game. This isn’t just a sporting success; it’s a statement. One that says: even in silence, we are building something.

As the men’s team stares at a rocky road ahead, the Blue Tigresses have already paved theirs with belief, performance, and quiet defiance. And it’s about time Indian football, as a whole, takes notice.