The AFC Asian Olympic qualifiers round 1 is being played in April where several Asian Nations have participated. Except for the 5 best Asian teams who would participate in round 2 other Asian Nations are playing each other in a group stage format, where the leader of the groups would go on to the next stage. There are 7 groups in round 1 of the qualifiers. The top 7 teams from each group would go on to the next round to play against 5 Asian as well as Global heavyweights in women's football such as Japan, Australia, etc. As only 2 teams will qualify to the Olympic 2024 main event so unfortunately many teams in round 1 withdrew (such as Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, etc) considering there is no hope to qualify. Indian Women's team was drawn in Group G along with Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan but as Turkmenistan withdrew India and Kyrgyz Republic is supposed to play 2 matches with each other to decide the group winner.
India played the first match against Kyrgyz on 4th April in which India beat Kyrgyz by a margin of 5-0. Anju Tamang scored a brace and Soumya, Shilky Devi, and Renu were the other 3 scorers. Soumya Ghuglot who plays for GNK Dynamo Zagreb in Europe made the scoreline 3-0 just before halftime which a thunderous strike at the top corner of the net. India dominated the game and chance creation and rightfully justified their ranking which is much higher than the Kyrgyz Republic though the Fifa ranking is a hoax nowadays. In 2023 the Indian women's team played friendlies against Nepal, Jordan, and Uzbekistan but couldn't find their first win of the year, but the big win came when it mattered the most. Coach Thomas Dennebry looked much relieved in the press conference.
The Women's team should be focused on their second match against Kyrgyz and they must be aiming to cruise past the qualifiers 1. The real challenge for India would come in round 2 of the qualifiers when they would have to face the big names of Asia and World football.
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