Asian Games 2023: Bala Devi returns to Indian women’s football team - full squad
The Indian national women's football team is placed in Group B alongside Chinese Taipei (ranked 38th) and Thailand (ranked 46th) at the Hangzhou Games.
Football
A 22-member women’s football team will represent India at Asian Games 2023, scheduled in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China, from September 23 to October 8.
The Indian women's football team head coach Thomas Dennerby announced the squad on Sunday.
Striker Bala Devi was the notable inclusion in the football squad. Bala Devi, a former India captain, returned to the Indian national team after a four-year gap. The 33-year-old Bala Devi, who has scored 36 goals in 46 matches for the national team, last represented India at the 2019 South Asian Games held in Kathmandu.
Bala Devi joined Scottish club Rangers in 2020 to become the first Indian women’s footballer to sign a professional contract with an European club. Her Scottish venture, however, was cut short after an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury.
After surgery and rehabilitation, Bala Devi returned earlier this year at a national camp in Chennai. She also played for Odisha FC in the Indian Women's League (IWL) 2022-23 and emerged as her team’s top scorer with six goals.
The women’s football competition at the Asian Games 2023 will feature 17 teams divided into five groups. Groups A, B and C will have three teams each, while Groups D and E will have four teams. The five group winners and three best second-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals.
The India women's football team, ranked 61st in the FIFA Rankings, is placed in Group B alongside Chinese Taipei (ranked 38th) and Thailand (ranked 46th).
The women's football tournament at the Asian Games is contested by senior national teams, with no age restrictions. The Indian women's football team had competed twice at the Asian Games – Bangkok 1998 and Incheon 2014.
Asian Games 2023: Indian women's football team
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