Hosts India were on Thursday handed a tough draw at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup as they were clubbed alongside eight-time champions China, two-time winners Chinese Taipei and Iran.

India, ranked 57th in the Fifa charts, are the third-highest ranked side in the group behind China (17th) and Chinese Taipei (40th) and ahead of Iran (72nd). The draw was held at the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) headquarters in the Malaysian capital. India is scheduled to host the tournament from January 20 to February 6 at venues in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune.

“It is an exciting group. We respect all our opponents as all of them are strong teams who have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup India 2022. But we are ready to play any team,” India women’s head coach Thomas Dennerby said after the draw. The team is currently camping in Jamshedpur.