Dalima Chhibber, a member of the Indian women's football squad, says that playing in locations like Sweden and Brazil has given her invaluable experience.
In the run-up to the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022, the Indian women's squad has played in six different nations.
Dalima said, "a lot has changed, especially the number of exposure matches that we have been playing in Brazil, Sweden, Turkey and so on. Brazil was a big learning curve for us, to see the hub of football culture and to understand what football really means to everyone there.”
With fewer than two weeks until the start of the AFC Asian Cup, the Blue Tigresses' players are as eager as ever to get the tournament started on January 20, when they face IR Iran. She added, "we've been preparing for a while now, and we have all been together for six months with a number of exposure matches. We've had some good wins, and we have had a few losses as well. But the most important thing is that we have learnt a lot. We are all excited, and can't wait to get going."
Thomas Dennerby, Team India's head coach, took over the senior team in August and has coaching expertise from Sweden and Nigeria.
She underlined, "I think the coach has given us a lot of confidence. He gives us a pep talk before every game, and he tells us how we are all capable, and how much he and the staff believe in us all. For me, personally, that gives a lot of confidence to fight it out. He has brought in mental toughness in the squad -- whether it's chanting, whether it's running, whether it's a conditioning, whether it's speed, whether it's the technical aspect, or it's a tactical aspect. We've been able to focus on every part of the game in detail. We've been able to highlight that we've been able to improve. We've been able to come together as a team, and improve our games building up to the Asian Cup."
The 24-year-old stated that participating in the FIFA World Cup is his desire, and that playing in Brazil was a stepping stone toward that aim. She added, "the dream for us is to reach the FIFA World Cup. So when we went to Brazil to play against Brazil, it was a dream come true. But like going to Brazil playing against those teams was the start of a dream because we know where we have to be. And that was just like a stepping stone. We realised what world football is like, and what kind of football the teams that are at the top level who play in the World Cup and Olympics play. So for us it was a very big learning curve.”
