Indian women football team back to business after Christmas

After unboxing the presents from their respective ‘Secret Santas,’ it’s business as usual for the Blue Tigresses, who are currently camping in Kochi, Kerala as they prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which is now less than a month away. Christmas served as a little break for the young women who also had a fun activity of secretly gifting presents to each other, and then finding out who their ‘Santas’ were. Back on the ground after the festivities, the training sessions for the team under head coach Thomas Dennerby are rigorous indeed, with the team having two sessions every day – in the morning and evening. While the rigours of the sessions do tend to take a toll, the medical staff of the team works tirelessly to get the players up and running for every session that they undergo.

“It’s important to let your hair down on occasions. But we all realise the importance of the situation we are in. We are preparing for the Asian Cup, and now that a couple of fun activities of Christmas are over, we are ready to get back to work,” said captain Ashalata Devi in an official AIFF release. The team has been in camp for the last six months in their preparation for the continental tournament, between which, they have also played nine friendly matches across four different nations. In fact, the women have already been to 6 countries in 2021 for exposure tours. “I’ve always had the habit of squeezing in some gym time, but that has increased ever since I recovered from my ACL injury last year. As a player, you never want to suffer ligament injuries, and I want to make those areas as strong as possible,” said Sanju Yadav. The 24-year-old has also had a recent shift in positions from being a winger to a wing-back, something she has had to constantly work on during the six-month camp with the Blue Tigresses. (ANI)