Football
An open letter to the Indian women's football team
Due to positive Covid-19 cases in the Indian team, they were forced to withdraw from the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022.
Dear Blue Tigresses,
Devasted. Disheartened. Unfortunate. These words might be everything but not all that you must have heard in the last 16 hours. Even though those words can be used to describe the way things turned out last night, everyone seems to be missing a very important word – Proud.
We are absolutely proud of the team and how far they have come. As fans of the Indian women's football team, we are mourning with you, this loss is as personal to us as it is to you. However, at the same time, we are extremely proud of the team that fought till the end against mighty Brazil, the team that had the entire nation awake at 6 am, and the team that has been practicing non-stop for the past six months for the Asian Cup.
Yes, we are absolutely 'disheartened' that we cannot watch you all play another Asian Cup match on the home ground, but in the future, we promise to cheer for you, a thousand miles across the globe.
Yes, we are 'devasted' that the dream for 2023 is shattered, but it doesn't make us lose hope of a World Cup qualification one day.
It is an 'unfortunate' turn of events, but the team's hard work has not gone to waste, because we know this team never gives up and is going to come back stronger than ever.
That is what we love about sports, it always gives you another opportunity to bounce back and this team knows how to do that. We promise, next time you step on the field wearing the Indian jersey, you will feel the same support from us as you did in these last few weeks. We hope there will be more posters of the team on the streets all across the country and we'll make sure to click pictures of them and tweet them to you all. We will make sure your social media notifications never stop chirping.
We also hope you take your time to grieve, and also know we are right beside you all because we are your fans through joy and sorrow. And hope you all still remember what we had said at the beginning of this tournament - YOU OWE US NOTHING, Blue Tigresses.
