Dalima Chhibber - "Our dream is to make India reach the FIFA Women's World Cup"

Energy levels are at an all-time high in the Indian Women's Team camp as the AFC Women's Asian Cup draws closer. The continental showdown, hosted by India, will take place across three stadiums in Mumbai and Pune.

The Blue Tigresses start their campaign against Iran on January 20, followed by matches against Chinese Taipei and China on January 23 and 26 respectively.

Of the 12 teams playing in the Asian Cup, as many as seven countries will have a shot at the FIFA Women's World Cup through direct qualification and play-offs.

It might perhaps be the closest chance an Indian Football Team will get at qualifying for a World Cup in the years to come. Dalima Chhibber, the national team defender, is aware of the opportunity presented to them.

In a chat with AIFF, she spoke about the team's dream to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. She said:

"The dream for us is to reach the FIFA World Cup. So when we went to Brazil to play against Brazil, it was a dream come true."

Chhibber referred to the friendly tournament played by the team in Brazil late last year. India faced heavyweights Brazil along with Venezuela and Chile at the time. Though India lost all matches there, it proved to be a learning experience for the girls. She continued:

"Going to Brazil, playing against those teams, was the start of a dream because we know where we have to be. And that was just like a stepping stone. We realised what world football is like, and what kind of football the teams that are at the top level who play in the World Cup and Olympics play. So for us it was a very big learning curve."

The team has been playing a lot of exposure matches lately in the build up to the AFC Women's Asian Cup. The ladies faced nations like UAE, Tunisia, Bahrain and Chinese Taipei in 2021. They defeated Bahrain with conviction and edged Chinese Taipei for a slender win.

Thomas Dennerby has been heavily influential for Team India

Led by Swedish coach Thomas Dennerby, India also made a trip to Sweden to play a couple of friendlies against Swedish clubs Hammarby and Djurgarden FC.

Chhibber gave her opinion on these exposure matches and how it has helped the team get going. She said:

"We’ve been preparing for a while now, and we have all been together for six months with a number of exposure matches. We’ve had some good wins, and we have had a few losses as well. But the most important thing is that we have learnt a lot. We are all excited. A lot has changed, especially the number of exposure matches that we have been playing in Brazil, Sweden, Turkey and so on."

The defender showered coach Thomas Dennerby with praise, crediting him for bringing 'mental toughness' to the team. She also spoke about the confidence given by the coach to all the players and how it helps them to perform better.

I think the coach has given us a lot of confidence. He gives us a pep talk before every game, and he tells us how we are all capable, and how much he and the staff believe in us all. For me, personally, that gives a lot of confidence to fight it out. He has brought in a mental toughness in the squad -- whether it's chanting, whether it's running, whether it's conditioning or it's a tactical aspect."

She continued:

"We've been able to focus on every part of the game in detail. We've been able to highlight that we've been able to improve. We've been able to come together as a team, and improve our games building up to the Asian Cup."