With hard work, a sense of national duty and a resolve to beat the top team in South Asia, Bangladesh did exactly that. It defeated India in the final group game by a 3-0 margin. It was an incredible historic victory because India had never been beaten before in the SAFF women’s football championship. Bangladesh had met India 10 times and lost 9 times with just one draw. Whether at the semi-final or the finals, Bangladesh’s nemesis was India. On Tuesday 13th of September, that spell ended and Bangladesh beat India not just comprehensively but went to the top of the team with 9 points. 1-0 would have been fine but the margin indicated the growing strength of the Bangladeshis team.
Unexpected?
The Indian team expected a fight perhaps but not a defeat. Its manager told the media that the match plan was to go to the top of the table. More importantly though for India, the records spoke for itself. They had beaten Bangladesh every time bar once so why not once more?
Given that scenario, the defeat /victory were indeed unexpected.
Here is what khelnow.com of India said about the forthcoming India-BD match .
“The Indian women’s team is dominating the ongoing 2022 SAFF Women’s Championship. The tournament is taking place in Kathmandu, Nepal and attracting a lot of attention. India is the defending champion; in fact, the nation has won all five of the previous editions of the tournament. Judging by the opening two matches and their outcomes, it will be difficult for any opposition to stop the juggernaut that is the Indian women’s football team.”
“The upcoming match against Bangladesh will be the final Group A fixture, one that India will hope to win comfortably and finish as group leaders. Their opponents have also won their opening two matches and have a good chance to cause an upset on Tuesday.”
Read: FIFA Women's Football: Bangladesh draw 0-0 with Malaysia to win series
So very confident but just ensuring they didn’t sound over-confident.
Bangladesh had beaten Maldives 3-0 and Pakistan 6-0 while India beat the same teams 9-0 and 3-0 so decisive answer on the basis of that. But once the game began, India seemed quite below par, often outclassed. Here is an excerpt from a Indian live blog on the game after the second goal was scored.:
“IND 0-2 BAN, 25 min: Bangladesh deserve their two-goal lead. Watching them play, you wouldn’t say they are ranked 147 in the Fifa rankings, 89 places below India. Ashalata Devi and Co looks shell shocked here. The passes aren’t coming off and they are not able to resist the Bangladeshi press." ( The Wire)
And Bangladesh?
In the pre-match interview captain Sabina Khatun had said something significant. “We know India is a very strong and professional team with lots of experience. They are ranked above us. But we beat Malaysia who was also ranked above us. “ It’s this quiet confidence that saw them win.
It’s true that BD may stumble in the semis against Bhutan. And if they reach the final India will go hell for leather seeking revenge. But the win drought is gone, the jinx is broken. It’s a strongly improving team and everyone will take Bangladesh seriously next time both teams meet.