Key Points

"Our target is the World Cup," echoed midfielder Sangita Basfore, as quoted from the official website of AIFF.

"The AFC qualifiers feel like World Cup qualifiers. We all want to qualify for Brazil," she added.

For the FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027, the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 serves as the qualifier, with the top six teams from the tournament securing their berths in the 32-team World Cup.

The first hurdle is these AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers in Chiang Mai, where India made the perfect start with a 13-0 demolition of Mongolia on Monday. The opening goal took less than eight minutes as Sangita's head guided an inch-perfect Soumya Guguloth cross into the open net.

"Right from warm-up, I had this feeling that I'd score the opening goal, and I did. That was a great feeling. I made a good run, and the cross from Soumya was perfect. When I scored, I thanked her right away," said Sangita.

Given the quality gap between India and Mongolia, perhaps the deluge of goals was expected from the start. Coach Crispin Chettri's message to the girls was clear -- celebrate every single goal together.

"Every time someone scores, we all go to them. That creates team bonding. If we keep doing this from the beginning, the upcoming matches will get easier as we play more like a team," said Sangita.

Since her debut against Sri Lanka in the Olympic qualifiers in 2015, the 28-year-old Sangita has racked up 66 caps for the Indian women's national team. Only Grace Dangmei, at 86, has more matches in the current squad.

From breaking through as a teenager to now being one of the most senior players in the team, Sangita recapped her journey with the Blue Tigresses.

"When I see the juniors in our team now, I remember my early days. Back then, I learned a lot from my seniors. (Oinam) Bembem Di was my idol, and still is. There was also (Ngangom) Bala di, (Irom) Prameshwori di, (Sasmita) Malik di, and of course, (Loitongbam) Ashalata di. There were so many senior players when we came in, and over time, they started retiring. We juniors were raw when we came and learnt things in the national team," she noted.

"But now, these younger players come in already well-prepared. Now, because of tournaments like the IWL and junior national teams, these kids already know how to maintain their lifestyle and progress. So, we don't need to teach them much. They're already doing well. But in the team, there's no senior-junior gap. We're all one unit," shared Sangita.

After a decade of national service, Sangita admitted she doesn't have many years left in India's blue. She might have two SAFF Women's Championship trophies and South Asian Games gold medals each, but what she yearns for is playing a major tournament for India. When India hosted the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2022, Sangita was one of the big misses in the Blue Tigresses' squad as she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in a friendly match against Hammarby IF in Sweden just three months before the tournament.

"When I look at my own journey, it's been a long one. I just want to have one proud moment before I retire, like playing in the World Cup. I want to say I did something big in my career. So yes, that's the aim. First qualify for the Asian Cup, play that, and then qualify for the World Cup," she said.

"Missing the Asian Cup in 2022 was a big regret. Even my teammates didn't get to play because of COVID. We had worked so hard during the pandemic to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, but it wasn't to be. That regret still lingers. Even now, I get flashbacks. We desperately want to qualify for the Asian Cup," she noted.

"This feels like a second chance now," she said.

India will face Timor-Leste on June 29, Iraq on July 2, and host Thailand on July 5.

- ANI