Indian squad named for 2020 AFC Women's Olympic qualifier

Indian senior women's football team coach Maymol Rocky on Friday named the 20-member final squad which will travel to Myanmar for the first round of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifying tournament.

The players were camped in Mumbai for the last two weeks to prepare for the task ahead. A total of 10 teams will move forward to the second round.

The Indian team will become the first to cross the first hurdle at the Olympic level if they advance into the second round.

"The girls are ready and looking forward to playing. We will enter the tournament with a positive mindset among the players as well as the entire staff. Our aim is to go through to the next round and we are looking forward to that. We need to qualify and I'm confident that we will do so," Rocky revealed about the preparations.

"I expect all the girls to rise to the occasion and give a good account of themselves. The players in the starting XI as well as the substitutes - each member will have a crucial role to play," she added.

The Indian team will take on Nepal in their first encounter on November 8, followed by matches against Bangladesh on November 11 and hosts Myanmar on November 13.

The selected players are as follows:

Goalkeepers: E Panthoi Chanu, Aditi Chauhan, M Linthoingambi Devi

Defenders: L Ashalata Devi, Manisha Panna, Ng Sweety Devi, Jabamani Tudu, Dalima Chhibber, Pyari Xaxa

Midfielders: Sangita Basfore, Sanju Yadav, Margaret Devi, Ranjana Chanu, Indumathi Kathiresan

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