Crispin Chettri, the coach of the Indian Women’s Football Team, who is from Darjeeling hills, is basking in glory after the team qualified in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 tournament that would be held in Australia.

Contacted, Chettri said that forming a core group of players and regularly practising with them has helped the team to to qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 tournament to be held in Australia.

“We have formed what we call a ‘core group of players’ which has helped our team to successfully qualify for the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026. The understanding among the players is good, and that also helped them to perform better,” Chettri told The Telegraph over the phone from Chiang Mai in Thailand before boarding a flight back to India on Sunday.

Under his coaching, the Indian women’s soccer team flawlessly performed and defeated the higher-ranked Thailand in the last match of the qualifying round 2-1 on Saturday at the Chiang Mai Stadium.

The memorable win made India qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, scheduled to be held in March in Australia.

Team India earlier registered convincing victories against Mongolia 13-0, Timor Leste 4-0 and Iraq 5-0.

Chettri, who is from Kurseong in the Darjeeling hills, had conducted a national camp for the qualifier round that was held at Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru.

“We have to get a steady supply line of players, and that can happen only by ensuring more participation of teams in tournaments like the Indian Women’s League,” he said.

“Currently, only eight teams are playing in the Indian Women’s League, and we need at least 12 teams to join the tournament so that more players will get a chance to showcase their talents on a proper platform,” the coach added.

Last year, Chettri guided the Odisha FC women’s team to qualify for the first edition of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League.

The Odisha women’s team also became the champion of the Indian Women’s League for 2023-24 under Chettri’s coaching.

After winning the qualifying round of the AFC, the coach claimed that this qualification would be a major boost for Indian football.

He has also hinted that, apart from making a few changes, he preferred to continue with the current team for upcoming tourneys.

“Once we return, we will decide about our team for the upcoming tournaments. I would prefer to stick with the present team members, except only a few changes,” he added.

The 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be the 21st edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Australia was officially chosen as the host nation by the AFC Women’s Football Committee in 2024.

The final tournament will also be the final stage of the Asian qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, scheduled for June-July 2027.