Indian football: ‘None of us are satisfied’: India women’s footballer Sangeeta Basfour | Special football news
New Delhi: The road to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia was supposed to be the moment when Indian women’s football would finally come out of the shadows and take the much-awaited leap forward. With six World Cup spots at stake, the Blue Tigresses felt the pulse of history beneath their studs. Instead, the campaign, with three defeats in three games, could be described as a sequence of administrative gambles followed by heartbreak on the field, leaving players to pick up the pieces of a shattered dream.Sangeeta Basfour, a midfield general who saw the nightmare up close while playing all three matches in the tournament earlier this month, tries to hide the deep collective grief behind the rhetoric of professional development.
“None of us are satisfied with our performance because the results did not go our way,” he said in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com. “The coach had a lot of expectations from me. But personally, I feel I couldn’t give my best or support the team the way I should have… but to play on such a big stage against top players. That in itself was a big achievement for us.”
An approach that left more questions than answers
The unrest in Perth began long before the opening whistle. In a move that surprised many observers, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) opted for the overseas-better approach just weeks before the tournament. He demoted home coach Crispin Chhetri, who had orchestrated the famous qualification win over Thailand, to an assistant role. In his place came Costa Rican tactician Amelia Valverde, who had two World Cup qualifications on her resume, and signed a frantic, short-term two-month contract.On paper the preparations looked seamless as the team spent nearly 40 days in Antalya, Turkey to test themselves against European clubs.
Team India in the crowd (Photo by @IndianFootball on X)
Basfour recalled, “Honestly, our preparation was very good.” “We played against teams from Ukraine and Russia… against Champions League-level club teams. We won almost every match.” But as the team moved from the Mediterranean air of Türkiye to the high-pressure pressure of Australia, cracks began to appear.“As the matches were getting closer, we were getting more excited but also a little nervous. Until we played the first match, we couldn’t really predict how our performance would be. No matter how much you prepare, there is always uncertainty on such a big stage,” the 29-year-old admitted. “We became more serious after the first match. We still regret that we feel like our World Cup opportunity was taken away from us.”
a coaching carousel
The AIFF have confirmed that they will not be extending Valverde’s contract, showing that their stop-gap solution to success has become useless.According to several reports, his short-lived tenure was marred by tactical instability, with the AIFF Technical Committee recently describing his tenure as “disappointing”. He cycled through three different formations in three group games. The results on the field were disastrous, including three defeats, zero points and a crushing 11–0 defeat at the hands of eventual champions Japan.
Sangeeta Basfour of India (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Basfour feels there was little time for Valverde. “She’s a very good coach. “If she had more time with us, she would have understood us even better,” the West Bengal-born midfielder told this website. But he still tried and talked to everyone, motivating us both on and off the field. There wasn’t really any problem.”Despite the 11–0 scoreline against Japan, Basfour refused to accept that the margin was too big for Indian football. Looking at her other opponents, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, she insists the difference was not quality, but execution and perhaps a little luck. “If you look at teams like Vietnam or Chinese Taipei, there is no big difference. We could have done better. We fought hard as a team. We were also unlucky, many of our shots hit the post,” he admitted.“If we had a longer camp and played more friendly matches, it would have helped.”
What’s next?
The road to salvation now leads to Nairobi. In April 2026, the Blue Tigresses will take part in the FIFA series, facing hosts Kenya at the Nyayo National Stadium. It is a chance to overcome various opposition including Malawi and the Australian side which recently hosted the continental crisis.
It would have helped if we had a longer camp and played more friendly matches.
Sangeeta Basfour, India women’s national team midfielder
There is optimism, however, tempered by appeals for structural change. For Basfour, the nightmare in Australia was not just about tactical formations or foreign versus domestic coaches; It was about the daily reality of Indian sports. Also read: $256K, what’s next for Nepal? Competitive cricket, infrastructure boost and a helping hand from India“Improving grassroots development and extending the duration of the women’s league will help a lot,” she said.“When players go back home, they don’t always get proper training or facilities. If the league runs longer, the players will improve and the national team will perform better.”
A new study conducted by researchers from AIIMS and other leading centers led by Dr. Govind K. Makhariya, has been published in the Indian Journal of Gastroenterology. The study finds that measuring bile acids in a single stool sample could provide a practical way to diagnose bile acid malabsorption (BAM) – a condition that is often missed because existing tests are complex and not widely available.Chronic diarrhea is often attributed to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, but experts say a significant number of these patients may actually have BAM, which requires a different line of treatment.“Chronic diarrhea is quite common in India, affecting about 8-10% of people, and about 80% of these cases are due to functional bowel disorders such as IBS. However, a small but significant subgroup of patients may have bile acid malabsorption, which often goes undiagnosed because existing tests are complex and not widely available. With new spot stool tests, it is now possible to identify these cases more easily and treat them accordingly,” Dr. Makhariya of the Department of Gastroenterology and Human said. Nutrition, AIIMS.The study tested a method that estimates fecal bile acids (FBA) using a simple assay and identifies a clear clinical cut-off. An FBA level of 2.8 μg/g was found to accurately detect the condition with high sensitivity (89.5%) and specificity (92%), indicating strong diagnostic performance.Researchers compared healthy individuals and patients suffering from intestinal diseases, finding that those affected had significantly higher levels of bile acids. When this was applied to real-world patient groups, the results were surprising.BAM was found in approximately 21% of patients with IBS-related diarrhea or functional diarrhea. The proportion was even higher in other groups – 57% in people who had gallbladder removal and more than 54% in patients with intestinal tuberculosis.These findings suggest that a large number of patients currently treated for other causes of chronic diarrhea may have an underlying, treatable condition that is being overlooked.Doctors say that this has a direct impact on care. Without correct diagnosis, patients often continue to suffer from symptoms despite treatment, leading to frequent consultations and reduced quality of life.The biggest advantage of the new approach is its simplicity. Unlike existing diagnostic methods, which are technically demanding and limited to specialized centres, this test can be performed on a single stool sample, making it far more accessible for routine use.Experts believe widespread adoption of such testing could help identify hidden cases earlier and enable more targeted treatment.
