Women’s Asia Cup 2026, IND vs TPE: Manisha Kalyan’s brilliant free-kick breathes life into Indian football
India’s campaign at the Women’s Asia Cup ended without a point but Manisha Kalyan gave fans something to enjoy before they confirmed a 3-1 win over Taiwan to reach the quarter-finals in Sydney on Tuesday.
India were all out early in the game but took an early lead when Martina Thokchom’s header hit the post. Taiwan took the lead shortly after, as Sanju Yadav’s pass to the keeper was intercepted by Chen Jin-Wen, who easily headed past Su Yu-Hwan to finish.
Manisha’s moment
Manisha Kalyan equalized for India with a brilliant long-range free kick in the 39th minute. His powerful left-footed strike rattled the crossbar before bouncing off the back of the line, briefly raising expectations of an unexpected result.
Those hopes did not last long. Taiwan took the lead shortly after halftime in fortunate circumstances when Su Yi-Yun’s penalty hit the post and deflected off the back of Indian keeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu and into the net. Wu Kai-ching then set up Chen Yu-chin with a defence-splitting through ball in the 77th minute to seal Taiwan’s place in the last eight.
India finished their campaign with zero points and a goal difference of minus 14, the worst performance in the group stage. Their 11–0 defeat to Japan at the weekend had already made qualification unlikely.
japan cruises
Elsewhere in Group C, Japan remained the standout team of the tournament, beating Vietnam 4–0 to end the group stage without conceding a single goal. Earlier, in the 21st minute, Ryo Ueki scored with a header from Yui Hasegawa’s cross.
Vietnam keeper Khong Thi Hang made several diving saves in the first half to keep the score respectable. Japan closed out the game after the break, with goals from Maika Hamano, Aoba Fujino and Kiko Seike within 16 minutes.
Vietnam finished with three points but finished bottom of the third-place teams, with Uzbekistan and the Philippines reaching the quarter-finals on goal difference. Taiwan will face defending champions China on Saturday, while Japan will face the Philippines a day later.
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