AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup: Shubhangi Singh out to silence the crowd yet again

“It’s always nice to silence an away crowd.”

Shubhangi Singh didn’t smile when she said it. Not in the clip that did the rounds after India sealed their AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup qualification. Not when she recalls it now.

It wasn't arrogance then. It was just a young captain, standing in a stadium that refused to hear her voice, let alone believe in her team.

“We couldn’t even hear each other,” Shubhangi told The Bridge on a video call from Thailand where the U-20 team will take part in the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup.

“From start to end, they were cheering for them," she further recalled off the 10,000 odd spectators in stands cheering for Myanmar.

And India? They didn’t have the luxury of easing into the game.

“Even if we draw the match, we couldn’t qualify. So we didn’t have any other option.”

That is the part she returns to often, not the line, not the confidence, but the situation. A young team, already rattled by a draw against Indonesia, suddenly staring at permutations they didn’t want.

“At that stage, you don’t want to draw any matches. You start depending on other teams’ results. We were very down after that.”

And then, they weren’t.

They went into a hostile stadium and did the one thing that strips a crowd of its power; they won.

“That’s why I said that line,” she shrugs. “It’s always nice to silence an away crowd.”

Somewhere in that answer is the essence of this India U20 side. Neither loud nor theatrical, but deeply aware of what the moment demands.

Long before she led India back to the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup after 20 years, Shubhangi had already seen the other side of big stages. 

She was a part of the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup team in 2022 and played entire 90 minutes in all the matches India played.

“That was a really nice experience,” she says. “The results were not great, but it helped us a lot, to understand what to expect from teams like Japan, Australia, China.”

There’s a distinction she makes which feels important – back then, India were hosts and had direct entry.

This time, they have fought their way through. They earned their their spot via the qualifiers.

“That is a different feeling," she says.

Between those two tournaments lies the making of a player, and a leader. Exposure tours, matches against physically stronger European sides, lessons absorbed rather than announced.

“We already have an idea now about what kind of intensity to expect," she says.

If there is a thread running through Shubhangi’s journey, from the bylanes of Songadh in Gujarat to captaining India, it is this: she was never taught to shrink.

Training under Thomas Dennerby during her formative years left a mark that still shapes her approach.

“He taught us not to be afraid of opponents,” she says. “Respect them off the field, but never be afraid of who you are playing against.”

It is a simple idea. But in Indian football, especially in women’s pathways, it is not always a given.

That mindset shows up again when she talks about the upcoming Asian Cup group consisting of Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei.

“Of course, Japan is a really good team,” she says. “But at this stage, you don’t come and say they are top teams and all. We are here to perform.”

The making of Shubhangi Singh

Shubhangi grew up playing with boys in the streets, chasing a ball because her brother did. It was a middle-class family, where football was never the obvious choice.

“Most families want their kids to study,” she says. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen in football.”

But her family didn’t hold her back. They leaned in.

“They sent me to a sports academy, far from home. Whatever I’ve done till now, it’s because of them.”

Her father calls her his pride. She calls their support the reason she stayed in the sport.

For someone who just led India to a historic qualification, Shubhangi is almost disarmingly honest about captaincy.

“I wouldn’t consider myself calm,” she laughs. 

What she does believe in is communication. India’s U20 squad is stitched together from different states, languages, cultures. That, more than tactics, was the first challenge.

“In the beginning, it was difficult,” she says. “Now we are a unit.”

Her role, as she sees it, is simple.

“I try to communicate as much as possible and keep the team together.”

The long road to April

India return to the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup after two decades. And they return to a group that does not offer comfort.

Preparation has been deliberate with months together under coach Joakim Alexandersson. There were friendlies against Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as a physically demanding exposure tour in Sweden.

“We played against senior teams there,” she says. “They were really strong, very physical. We learned how to handle that.”

The goal is clear even if the path isn’t easy.

“To perform well and try to qualify for the knockout stages.”

And the mindset?

“We are going as underdogs,” she says. “But we are going there to take points.”

On field adaptation

There was a time Shubhangi played as a right winger. Then midfield. Then full-back. Now, she anchors the defence.

It wasn’t a carefully planned transition. It was necessity, adaptation, trust in the coach’s vision.

“It doesn’t matter where you play,” she says. “It just matters that you want to play. I enjoy playing as a defender. I don’t want to go back.”

Towards the end, when the questions shift away from tactics and tournaments, Shubhangi pauses a little longer.

What would she tell young girls who want to play football?

“Just enjoy it,” she says. “Work hard to play for your country.”

She knows the reality, the financial uncertainty, the pull of more ‘secure’ paths, the constant comparison with cricket.

“I get asked a lot,  why football?” she smiles. “They talk about money and all.

Her answer is uncomplicated. “If you do something you love, you will get happiness. That’s all that matters.”

And now, the real test. The next time Shubhangi Singh walks out onto the pitch, it will not be in front of 10,000 hostile voices in Yangon.

It will be against Japan. Then Australia. Then Chinese Taipei.

Different stage. Same noise. But if there is one thing she has already shown, it is that she doesn’t need the crowd to believe. She just needs the moment.

And when it comes, Shubhangi will be ready. She already knows what it feels like to silence everything else.