New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) When Sanfida Nongrum found the net in the 52nd minute after coming off the bench at half-time against Vietnam in India’s opening match, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, it marked the return of an Indian goal at the continental showpiece and announced the arrival of a new face on the international stage.

But an injury-time goal condemned India to a 1-2 defeat against Vietnam in their first match in Group C of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 on Wednesday.

The last time India scored a goal in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup before Wednesday, Sanfida hadn’t been born. A historic goal on not just any day, but her senior India debut. Just minutes into the second half of her debut, the 20-year-old wrote a small piece of history by scoring India’s first goal at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 23 years.

For Sanfida, the joy of scoring was mixed with the disappointment of the result.

“Although I’m happy to score my first goal on my debut for India, I feel bad that we lost in the last moments. We will take our learnings and move forward to the Japan match,” she said after the game, as quoted by AIFF.com.

Long before the debut goal in Perth, Sanfida’s football journey had begun in Shillong, Meghalaya, in a household where the sport first entered her life through family. Growing up in a joint family with her parents, grandmother, and cousins, it was her cousin brother who introduced her to the game.

“I started playing with my cousin brother at home first, and then every day we would go to the field to run and play together,” she recalled.

By the age of five or six, those informal games had become a daily routine.

Soon after, she joined the Royal Wahingdoh FC academy in Shillong when she was around six years old. Though she was initially considered too young for formal selection, the environment gave her the first taste of organised football.

From there, her progression came through local competitions. She represented her district and state in youth tournaments, while continuing to train regularly in grassroots sessions several times a week.

“My routine was mostly training and matches. I used to practise regularly and play wherever I got the chance, whether it was district or state level,” she said.

Her first major exposure outside home came at the age of 12 when she travelled for the Subroto Cup with her school. It was the first time football had taken her away from Shillong. Two years later, she represented Meghalaya at the Sub Junior Girls’ National Football Championship in Odisha.

But the biggest step arrived when she was just 15 years old. “I left home for the first time to play football seriously. I went to Bengaluru, and that was a big moment for me,” she said.

In Bengaluru, she joined Bangalore United FC, where she trained under former India goalkeeper Chitra Gangadharan. It was her first experience living away from home and adapting to a more professional environment.

After two years in Karnataka, Sanfida began gaining experience in the Indian Women’s League. She first played for Goa’s Sirvodem Sports Club during the 2021-22 IWL season held in Bhubaneswar, before representing Sports Odisha in the following campaign in Ahmedabad.

She then moved to Garhwal United FC, where her career entered a new phase. Over time, she became one of the most senior academy players in the squad and eventually took on leadership responsibilities.

Her rise with the club culminated in the 2024-25 season when Garhwal United won the IWL 2 title, with Sanfida serving as captain. Later that year, she also scored a spectacular long-range goal that helped the club secure their first-ever Indian Women’s League victory in December 2025.

Behind her steady progress has been constant encouragement from home. Her father works as a driver, and her mother is a homemaker, and despite the distance from Shillong, their support has remained unwavering.

“My family always tells me one thing — never give up. In football, you can win, lose, or draw, but the important thing is to keep going and keep working hard,” Sanfida said.

–IANS

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