On Sunday, January 25, the India Women’s National Futsal team, the Futsal Tigresses, ended their campaign at the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship 2026 with a victory over Sri Lanka by 5-2. Held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, India’s win got them a second-place finish in the standings with 12 points scored from six matches played, including four wins and two losses. Bangladesh secured the No. 1 spot as champions of the tournament. As part of Futsal Tigresses, Sonali Mondal secured a hat-trick for India, while Mithila Ramani and Pooja Gupta scored one goal each.
India started the match with intense action and took early control, wasting no time. Through that, they got the lead in the sixth minute from Sonali, who made a good advantage of a loose ball, bringing it inside the circle. The Sri Lankan goalkeeper, however, tries to defend the goal but ends up giving Sonali the chance for a rebound, who gets the first goal of the team. A minute later, India’s lead doubles with Sonali finding another loose ball in midfield and drives forward with full power and stuns Sri Lanka’s defensive ground.
India continues to press charges against Sri Lanka through sharp attacks and finding gaps in the opponent’s defence. Later in the ninth minute, India got another success through Mithila Ramani’s attack, who led the team to 3-0. Again in the 16th minute, Sonali strikes again and showcases her individual skills by securing her third goal of the match. The goal was secured after defending it against several Sri Lankan defenders, and her quick footwork got India a 3-0 lead ahead of the interval.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankans managed to come back in the second quarter and secured their first goal of the match in the 22nd minute from Shanu Paskaran. The team continued to strike back, and in the 28th minute, they found their second goal from Gowry Surenthiran. While the Sri Lankans tried their best to come back, India got hold of their defense and found the momentum in the game back. In the 36th minute, India added another goal, but this time from Pooja, who made a finish from long range. India managed to continue their dominance and played the final minutes of the game with a 5-2 win over Sri Lanka.
The Futsal Tigresses campaign at the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026 saw a good performance from the team who defeated teams like Maldives (11-1), Nepal (8-1), Pakistan (5-3), and the recent one being Sri Lanka (5-2). Meanwhile, India lost their matches against Bhutan (1-2) and Bangladesh (1-3).
