India U17 Women Win for First Time Since 2005, Quarter-Final Spot in Sight
Twenty-one years. That’s how long India’s U17 women had gone without a win at the AFC Asian Cup. On Friday, they ended it.
The Young Tigresses beat Lebanon 4-0 in their final Group B match in China — goals from Pritika Barman (two), Alva Devi Senjam, and Joya. Barman opened in the seventh minute and closed it in the 85th. It was clinical, dominant, and historic.
Their last win at this level was a 6-0 over Indonesia in 2005. They still didn’t make the knockouts that year. Now, with this result, they’re in pole position to advance as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams — on the verge of the quarter-finals for the first time in over two decades.
“This group has fought hard for this,” one official said.
The full group results determine whether they go through. But India have done their part. A 4-0 win. First time since 2005. The knockouts are right there.