{"id":11204,"date":"2026-11-10T10:12:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T23:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=11204"},"modified":"2026-11-10T10:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T23:43:03","slug":"against-the-odds-east-bengals-historic-breakthrough-in-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/against-the-odds-east-bengals-historic-breakthrough-in-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Against the odds: East Bengal’s historic breakthrough in Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was 10pm on Saturday, November 7, and the festive spirit of Diwali was in the air in Kolkata.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For East Bengal, there was another reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Red and Gold had etched their name into history, becoming the first Indian club to reach the AFC Women’s Champions League quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a monumental achievement and another significant step in the steady progress of women\u2019s football in India, as the Red and Gold brigade proved they belong among the continent\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journey that started back in August in Sabah\u2019s Kota Kinabalu is now set to continue in 2027. Having comfortably seen off Bangladesh\u2019s Rajshahi Stars 4-0 and Rovers FC of Guam 12-0 in their opening two fixtures, East Bengal\u2019s decider was against hosts Sabah at the Likas Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a closely fought first half, the Kolkata giants showed their quality in the second half when goals from Olivia Anokye and Soumya Guguloth guided them to a 2-0 victory and a place in the AWCL group stage for the second successive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the group stage, East Bengal were placed in an extremely difficult-looking Group B, which consisted of the reigning champions of Korea Republic, DPR Korea and Vietnam – Hwacheon KSPO, 4.25 SC and Ho Chi Minh City FC, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at least, the reigning Indian Women\u2019s League (IWL) champions had the advantage of playing on their home turf at Kishore Bharati Krirangan, although the odds were stacked against them even before a ball was kicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opponents for the group stage opener were Ho Chi Minh City and upon kickoff, one would be forgiven for thinking that East Bengal were up against the Vietnam national team, with HCMC\u2019s primary colour of Red with Yellow accents eerily similar to the national team and even boasting the nation\u2019s all-time top scorer Hu\u1ef3nh Nh\u01b0<\/a> in their ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was also an HCMC team that had reached the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the AWCL in 2024\/25, so East Bengal knew they were up against it but needed to get a positive result as tougher opponents lay in wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Andrews\u2019 side played fearless football and they were rewarded for it when Fazila Ikwaput\u2019s first-half brace put the hosts in the driver\u2019s seat heading into the break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Although HCMC pulled one back on the hour mark, East Bengal deserved their 2-1 win for taking the game to the Vietnamese champions, with Vietnam being ranked 32 places above India in the FIFA rankings (37 to 69), proving for the umpteenth time that football is not played on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the importance of this victory, the Indian champions couldn\u2019t afford to celebrate with the daunting prospect of taking on the reigning WK League champions, Hwacheon, just three days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, it was East Bengal\u2019s Ugandan forward Ikwaput who gave the home side a dream start when she beat Kim Min-young in a 1v1 situation to make it an early 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the joy was short-lived after Lee Su-bin equalised soon after, following a free-kick from inside the box due to a goalkeeping lapse in concentration. In the second half, the Gangwon-based outfit ran away with the game, as the scoreboard read 1-4 at full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were unable to sleep after the defeat. We needed to put up a much better performance in our last game,\u201d remarked East Bengal goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The final game in the group was going to be another difficult test against 4.25 SC, with DPR Korea one of the heavyweights in women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the worst possible start for East Bengal when they conceded in just the second minute and it could well have been a long 90 minutes. However, the Indian side knew that Myanmar\u2019s Ayeyawady had just defeated IR Iran\u2019s Bam Khatoon 3-0 across the border in Yangon, which mathematically meant that East Bengal would be through as long as they lost by less than a four-goal margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Bengal shored up their defence and went on to lose just 0-2, advancing to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It broke the glass ceiling for Indian women\u2019s clubs in continental competitions, with East Bengal themselves having narrowly missed out on progressing to the knockout stage in the 2025\/26 season when they were heartbreakingly knocked out by the goals-scored criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to that, the pioneer club in Indian women\u2019s football were Gokulam Kerala, who were the first to win matches at the continental level, beating the likes of Uzbekistan\u2019s Bunyodkor and Krung Thep FC of Thailand during their three editions of participation in the AFC Women\u2019s Club Championship from 2021 to 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps fittingly, the man who led Gokulam during their glory days is now at the helm at East Bengal, Anthony Andrews. The 30-year-old who hails from the Western Indian state of Maharashtra is now showing his Midas touch in the Eastern Indian city of Kolkata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Andrews knows how important that second half against 4.25 SC could turn out to be in the long run, when they could hardly avoid any mistake after already being 0-2 down, or else their knockout stage dream could have been up in smoke for the second consecutive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe defended for our lives out there. 4.25 SC are a much superior team and matching them demanded total commitment, which our players delivered. I couldn\u2019t be prouder of the girls,\u201d expressed the East Bengal Head Coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the continental level, a strong core group of domestic players – which included Guguloth, Panthoi, Shilky Devi Hemam, Astam Oraon and Rimpa Haldar – the recruitment of foreign players also plays a vital role in how far a club can progress and it must be said that the East Bengal management got it right with their overseas signings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japanese midfielder Hitomi Tanaka was brought in to add to the African quintet of Olivia Anokye, Abena Opoku, Adama Alhassan (all from Ghana), plus Resty Nanziri and Ikwaput (from Uganda).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Indian footballers gained valuable exposure in Africa earlier this year when they competed in the FIFA Series in Kenya, overcoming Malawi 3-2 to finish in third place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is noteworthy for India when you factor in what happened just four months later when Malawi won admirers all across the world, defeating Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and Algeria en route to reaching the 2026 Women\u2019s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final on their tournament debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it is not just the Southeast African nation that gained international exposure, with the Indian Women\u2019s League (IWL) being featured by Sky Sports last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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