Theyyam

  MUMBAI: The morning after, there’s pride, as much there’s a bit of frustration at not being able to finish it off against IR Iran despite all the domination, and the chances created. But that’s what spurs the Blue Tigresses, in their mission to take it forward together, towards their realistic dream of making it to the quarterfinals, which opens the doors for the play-offs for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Head Coach Thomas Dennerby never believes in lamenting. His philosophy stays simple – learn the lessons, and look ahead. “This game is over. The result is what it is. We can never look back. Now we have to work on our finishing and go at it again in the second match against Chinese Taipei and get the three points,” Dennerby commented at the online official post-match press conference. “I think we have a solid defence, and defended well whenever they tried to counter-attack. A few tweaks to our attack, and we will be ready for our next opponents”, the 62-year-old said. Group A ...

  MUMBAI: Dominant Blue Tigresses created chances in each half but were unable to finish it off as they were held to a goalless draw by IR Iran in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup opener at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday (January 20, 2022). India next play Chinese Taipei in a crucial encounter on January 23. The Iranian women had the better of exchanges during the initial stages and even hit the Indian crossbar, but the Blue Tigresses managed to soak in the pressure, and went into the attack with intent, but failed to make the most of it – Iranian goalkeeper Koodaei’s reflexes also saving the day for her side. The first chance fell to the tireless Indumathi in the 24th minute when the midfielder tried to dip in her half-volley from just outside the box, but it sailed over. In the 30th minute Indumathi was again in the thick of the action, sending in a cross from the right flank, but Manisha Kalyan’s header went out. Spurred, Manisha India went all out. In the 30th mi...

  MUMBAI: All India Football Federation President Mr. Praful Patel interacted with the Blue Tigresses and wished them luck for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022. India take on Iran in the tournament opener at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai tomorrow (Thursday, January 20, 2022). “I want to congratulate each and every one of you for making it to the final squad. We are all proud of you. There could not be a happier moment than us hosting the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on our home soil,” said Mr. Patel to the team via video conferencing. The AIFF President, also a FIFA Council member, announced a bonus to the players if the Blue Tigresses qualify for the quarterfinals. “We all pray that you play well, and hope that you reach the quarterfinals. We will also award a prize money if you do so. It will be a proud moment for us all,” Mr. Patel declared, much to the applause of the players. India have been drawn against IR Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23) and China PR (Ja...

  MUMBAI: As the Blue Tigresses gear up to take on IR Iran in their opening encounter of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 on Wednesday (January 20), Indian Senior Women’s National Team Head Coach Thomas Dennerby wants the girls to play “together as a unit.” In the official pre-match press conference held earlier today (Tuesday, January 18, 2022 -- two days prior to the kick-off), Dennerby averred: “Since I have taken charge the focus has been to play together as a unit -- knowing how, and when to press. We have reduced the number of long balls, and are now focusing on playing through the middle to penetrate.” India have been drawn against IR Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23) and China PR (January 26) in Group A of the competition that consists of 12 teams. The top two from each of the three groups, along with the two best second placed teams from the groups will make it to the quarterfinals. “The Iran game is going to be tough. We know that they are fighters wit...

 MUMBAI: Just four days are left for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to get underway, and the Blue Tigresses are in Mumbai, preparing for their first match against IR Iran, which is set to take place on January 20 at the DY Patil Stadium. While the team operates from within a bio bubble, and have their focus fully settled on the task ahead, the excitement of the Asian Cup has, in a way, seeped in from the outside. On the way to training, and back to the hotel, the players are excited to see billboards with gigantic pictures of themselves. As the Team India buses wheel around the corners of Navi Mumbai, people stop in their tracks to peek at the Blue Tigresses as the team bus pass by. Some give a friendly wave, some in a hurry try to click a picture of the team bus but by that time, the bus has already whisked away. “It’s sad that we won’t have the fans in the stands to support us in the Asian Cup, especially since we are the ones hosting it,” said Dangmei Grace. “But seeing such excit...

  MUMBAI: Nelson Mandela had once said: “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” The Indian Women’s Team has one such player, Shilky Devi, a 16-year old Blue Tigress, who apart from wearing the captain’s armband in junior international matches, is also set to lead the charts in one particular category in the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 – the youngest player of the tournament. At the age of 16 years and 2 months, Hemam Shilky Devi, will be the youngest player in the 2022 edition of the continental tournament, with Indonesia’s Helsya Maeisyaroh coming the second closest -- at 16 years and 8 months. However, being a youngster in the squad, Shilky, who has already made her senior debut against Brazil last year, is picking up valuable experience from the rest of the players in the team. The 16-year-old defender will be among 15 players in the Indian squad under Head Coach Thomas Dennerby, who are under the age of 25 at the AFC Asian Cup, bringing the average ag...

 MUMBAI: India Women’s team captain Ashalata Devi put emphasis on the “strong bonding” that has developed between the younger players and the senior ones ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022. “When I was a young player in the team, I used to ask the senior players a lot of questions,” she said. “If we don’t share and communicate, the bonding never develops. So we make it a point to talk to each other often,” she maintained. “Even if I am not the best person to deal with a particular matter, I will direct them to the best person to solve it,” added Ashalata. India have been drawn against IR Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23) and China PR (January 26) in Group A of the competition. The top two from each of the three groups, along with the two best second placed teams from the groups will make it to the quarterfinals. The official squad of 23 has as many as 15 players under the age of 25 with the average age of the team being 23.13, and Ashalata has taken the l...

 MUMBAI: With less than a week left for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 to kick-off, Blue Tigresses Head Coach Thomas Dennerby stated that the Blue Tigresses are “feeling good” ahead of their opening match against IR Iran on January 20, 2022. “We aim to get into the quarterfinals which is our primary target. If we qualify to the last-eight – anything, and everything can happen. The quarterfinals are a knockout stage, and all teams will be under pressure. Looking ahead, we feel it’s a realistic target that we can achieve. But let’s take it step by step,” the Head Coach maintained. “We have played different teams, different levels of teams, and different playing styles. We learned in Brazil wherein we played 3 games in a span of 7 days with two days in between – a similar format to the group stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022,” the coach opined. “It allowed us to regain 100 percent of energy, and get back to prime fitness. We have defended well most of the times, b...

MUMBAI: After camping in Kochi for more than a month since returning from their tour of Brazil, the Indian Women’s Team has now shifted base to Mumbai, where they are set to compete in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022. Looking forward to the tournament ahead, head coach Thomas Dennerby believes that once the Blue Tigresses land in Mumbai, all focus will be on the Asian Cup. “This is the moment we’ve been preparing for over the past six months. We’ve had over 200 sessions, a number of matches against quality opponents across four countries, and now it’s time to implement all the things that we have been working on,” said Dennerby. The 62-year-old Swede, who had also previously coached the Swedish and the Nigerian National Teams, revealed that a pep-talk with the players before departure to Mumbai, has helped put everyone in the correct mindset. Hungry for success, young Blue Tigresses ready for AFC Women's Asian Cup “We had a small meet with the players and we explained to t...

  Kochi: Indian Women’s Team head coach Thomas Dennerby has named the list of final 23 registered players for the forthcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup which is set to take place in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune, from January 20 onwards. The players and support staff, who have already been camping in Kochi, Kerala since the team’s return from Brazil, will fly out to Mumbai on Thursday, January 13, 2022. We are not thinking much and taking one game at a time: Thomas Dennerby India have been drawn against IR Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23) and China PR (January 26) in Group A of the competition that consists of 12 teams. With as many as 15 players under the age of 25 in the relatively young squad, Dennerby believes that it would “the youngsters and the experienced bunch can help each other out, both on and off the pitch.” “We have a good bunch of young players, and some experienced heads too. The young ones are hungry to prove themselves, so that brings in a good level...

  The Indian Women’s Team has moved forward together, with an influx of youngsters coming in from the U-17 and the U-19 sides in recent years. Those that have come in from the junior teams of the yesteryears -- like wing back Dalima Chhibber, have now begun to take leadership roles in this young squad. Speaking live on AIFF TV, the 24-year-old maintained the influx of youngsters in the National Team has made the rest more responsible athletes. “I was one of the youngsters before, looking up to the other players. Now, there are so many youngsters who have come in from the U-17 and U-19 squads, and they look up to us,” said Dalima. “That has changed the approach a bit. With the new players coming in, the responsibility falls on us to make them comfortable. But other than that, it’s still the same.” We are not thinking much and taking one game at a time: Thomas Dennerby With less than 2 weeks left for the AFC Asian Cup to kick-off, the players in the Blue Tigresses’ camp are as exc...

 KOCHI: With the Blue Tigresses sweating it out in their final part of their preparation leading to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022, Head Coach Thomas Dennerby spoke about the preparation, India’s opponents, realistic targets, the balance in the side, chances of making it to the quarterfinals and the play-offs for the World Cup, and much more. Tell us about the preparation of the team, in the lead up to the AFC Asian Cup. We have been preparing since August. Have been working hard, and been doing 8-10 sessions every week, and we’ve also have a few exposure tours in Bahrain, UAE, Sweden, Brazil. We have played different kinds of teams, some higher ranked, some lower ranked than us. Now, it’s just a few days left, and we are doing the final preparations. We are just fine tuning a few things for the team right now. There are a number of youngsters in the squad. How are they gelling with the more experienced bunch? We have a good bunch of experienced and young players who are h...

KOCHI: Football is a sport that is made beautiful, especially when a team bonds together to be greater than the sum of its parts. One key aspect of such endeavours is communication -- something that Blue Tigresses midfielder Indumathi Kathiresan lays a lot of stress on. “It’s all about communicating on the field to fill in the missing areas, when you’re playing in the midfield,” Indumathi said to www.the-aiff.com “People mistake it to be pointing out the mistakes of others. But it’s not about that. If I don’t do it, they may not know what they’ve done wrong, and vice versa.” “When they (my teammates) look into my eyes on the pitch, they should know that even if they make an error, I’ll give my life to come and help them; and when I look into their eyes, I too want to see the same. That’s what playing for the country is all about. That’s what football is all about,” she exclaimed. While the 27-year-old midfield general stresses the importance of communicating with your teammates, it ...

KOCHI: The Blue Tigresses are leaving no stone unturned as they prepare forward together for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India2022. From technical to tactical, and strength and conditioning, all measures are being taken to ensure that the team is prepared to face the best in Asia.  One aspect, however, goes mostly unnoticed by the outside world – the mental training. The team has now stayed together for the better part of the year, away from families and loved ones.  "Footballers are people who like open spaces, and it does affect if you can't take a break from it all and maybe go out for a walk, or go for a coffee. Giving your mind that rest is important," said head coach Thomas Dennerby.  "In terms of general training, we try to do different things that help them in that. Fun sessions certainly help, but the simple parts of everyday training that also helps build a team," he continued. "When players help each other lift more weights in the gym, or push e...