"Use this as fuel, come back stronger" - Australia captain Sam Kerr sends heartfelt message to Indian team after Women's Asian Cup exit

Australian skipper Sam Kerr, in a heartfelt video message, empathized with the Indian Women's Team after the side was forced to withdraw from the ongoing AFC Women's Asian Cup.

The Blue Tigresses had to forfeit their game against Chinese Taipei on January 23. They didn't have enough players available to field a full starting lineup for the game owing to a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp.

As the game was called off due to India's inability to field the required squad (13 players), the team were considered to have withdrawn from the tournament according to AFC’s Special Competition Rules.

Kerr, the tournament's top scorer in her video message asked the players to use the setback as fuel and 'come back stronger'. She also wished the Indian squad luck in their upcoming endeavours. In the video posted by the All India Football Federation's official social media handle, Kerr said:

"Hi girls, this is Sam Kerr from the Australian national team. Just wanted to send you guys a message and say how sorry I am for the situation you guys are in right now. I am so disappointed for you guys, I know you've been working so hard for this tournament. Use this as fuel, come back stronger."

Sam Kerr added:

"I was looking forward to hopefully playing you guys but it wasn’t to be, hopefully, in the future, we’ll meet. Good luck in your future endeavours and, hopefully, one day we’ll see you back in this tournament."

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Sam Kerr and Australia's journey in the AFC Women's Asian Cup so far

The Matildas came into the tournament as the overwhelming favourites. In their opening Group B fixture, they faced Indonesia, the lowest-ranked team of the 2022 edition of the Women's Asian Cup.

With five goals from Sam Kerr, Australia completed an 18-0 rout of the Indonesian side proving their ruthlessness. The game was a memorable one for Australia not only for the scoreline but also because Kerr broke Tim Cahill's record to become the all-time leading scorer for the country.

Kerr's goals on the night took her goalscoring tally to 54. In the next match, Sam extended her tally by another goal when she scored against the Philippines in a 4-0 victory for the Matildas. The win secured a knockout berth for the runners-up of the previous edition of the tournament.