AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026: India W bow out after 1-3 defeat to Chinese Taipei

India bowed out of the AFC Womens Asian Cup Australia 2026 after suffering 13 defeat against Chinese Taipei in their last Group C match at the Western Sydney Stadium in Sydney Australia on TuesdayChinese Taipei led 21 at halftime The Mulan took an early lead through Su Yuhsuan 12 before Manisha Kalyan 39 drew India level However Chinese Taipei took the lead once again in the first half through Hsu Yiyun 458 before Chen Yuting 77 extended their lead in the second half according to a All India Football Federation AIFF releaseIndia head coach Amelia Valverde made two changes to her starting XI bringing in Shilky Devi Hemam and Nirmala Devi Phanjoubam for the match needing a victory and scoring at least two goals to stand a chance to qualify for the knockout roundsThe Blue Tigresses began with intent and a Manisha corner almost put them in the lead in the second minute Soumya Guguloth had her header saved from the corner before Pyari Xaxa pounced on the rebound causing confusion in the Chinese Taipei defence before it was clearedChinese Taipei countered immediately with Chen Jinwen pulling the trigger from inside the Indian box but it went inches wide of the far postIndia had a similar chance at the other end when Nirmala played it to Manisha who threaded it through to Soumya who also dragged her shot inches wideIndia goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam made a smart save off of a YC Chen shot in the 10th minute but was left stranded a couple of minutes later when a double error at the back gifted Chinese Taipei the lead Martina Thokchom miscued a clearance in her half as the ball rolled onto JW Chen on the right Sanju managed to intercept it in time and attempted to play it back to Panthoi However the fullbacks pass lacked conviction and fell into the path of JW Chen who promptly squared it to YH Su to tap it into an empty netIndia still needed to score twice as a 21 win would also have been enough A 26thminute Pyari cross into the box saw Sanfida Nongrum charge at the near post but she only managed to collide with the opposition keeperIndia finally levelled the score when they got a freekick some 25 yards out Huang Kesins offtheball push on Soumya in the 38th minute got the Video Assistant Referee into action as a possible red card offence was being checked However the VAR deemed the referees original decision of a yellow card to Huang was correctA minute later Manisha produced a thunderous freekick that struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced out of play before being cleared The VAR was once again called upon and a goal was soon awarded to India who had levelled the scorePanthoi who has made numerous saves in the Asian Cup pulled off another blinder in the first half injurytime when YC Chens powerful effort struck the onrushing India goalkeeper on the face While the immediate danger was averted disaster struck a minute later when Chinese Taipei were awarded a penalty YY Hsu who stepped up however only managed to hit the woodwork However the ball struck the back of Panthoi who had dived in the correct direction and rolled over the line for Chinese Taipei to take the lead once moreA goal behind India started the second half with greater intent once again as Rimpa Haldar replaced Soumya Guguloth Manisha who drifted wide on the right cut inside and pulled the trigger only to see it sail wideAt the other end captain Sweety Devi Ngangbam made a crucial block off a YH Su shot minutes before Panthoi pulled off a brilliant save once again this time denying the attacker who was through on goalHowever Indias repeated attempts to get back on level terms ended up being their undoing YY Hsu played YC Chen through behind the India backfour as the latter rounded Panthoi and scored in an empty goal Panthoi while charging at Chen collided with Sweety and both players had to be stretchered offIndia had a few chances in the closing stages with Sanfida having her 86thminute volley blocked by Teng Peilin while Manishas 89thminute freekick took a deflection before substitute goalkeeper Chen Ssuyu swiped it away The Chinese Taipei substitute keeper in the last minute of regulation time had to make yet another save off a Manisha freekickThe India forward looked destined to score a second goal and a minute later she managed to get a free header onto a Kaviya Pakkirisamy corner only to see it thud onto the uprightThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever