India vs Chinese Taipei Player Ratings: Manisha Kalyan impresses in AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 clash against Chinese Taipei
India bows out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026
The India women’s national football team were eliminated from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 after suffering a heartbreaking 3–1 defeat to Chinese Taipei Women’s National Football Team.
Chinese Taipei took an early lead in the 12th minute after capitalizing on a defensive lapse, with Su Yu-hsuan calmly finishing into an empty net. India, however, responded with determination and found their way back into the contest before halftime.
In the 39th minute, Manisha Kalyan produced a moment of brilliance with a stunning free kick that restored parity and reignited hopes for the Blue Tigresses.
But the momentum shifted once again just before the break. In the eighth minute of stoppage time in the first half, Chinese Taipei regained the lead after a penalty deflected off Panthoi Chanu and ended up in the back of the net as an unfortunate own goal.
Trailing in the second half, India pushed forward in search of an equalizer but struggled to seriously trouble the Chinese Taipei defense.
The contest was eventually put beyond doubt in the 77th minute when Chen Yu-chin found the net, sealing the victory for Chinese Taipei.
The result confirmed their progression to the knockout stages while bringing India’s campaign to an end.
Here are the player ratings from the India vs Chinese Taipei match.
India Player Ratings (by Uttiyo Sarkar)
Panthoi Chanu – 5/10
Panthoi put in a brave effort, making four impressive saves to keep the opponents at bay. She was unlucky in conceding the first two goals, especially with the penalty going off her, before being outwitted for the third and suffering a horror injury in the clash with Sweety Devi.
Nirmala Devi – 5.5/10
Nirmala wasn’t as poor as some of her fellow defenders, but she got outwitted on a few occasions.
Her passing was poor and despite creating a few chances, Nirmala wasn’t able to dominate the right side.
Sweety Devi – 6/10
Sweety tried her best to hold together a commanding defensive line but couldn’t really make up for her teammate’s mistakes.
She did make a few nice defensive contributions, but her game ended in pain after the horrific collision with Panthoi.
Martina Thokchom – 3/10
Martina was consistently exploited by the Chinese Taipei players, with the majority of moves coming through her side.
She made a poor error in failing to clear the ball before the first and saw the opposition players consistently move away from her to threaten the goal.
Sanju Yadav – 2/10
Sanju had a highly forgettable outing. Multiple of the Chinese Taipei goals happened because of her errors, with the first because of her poor misplaced back pass and the second with Chen Yu-chin breaking the offside trap because of her poor positioning.
Sangita Basfore – 4.5/10
Sangita Basfore was uninspiring in the midfield battle, as she failed to really create anything and gave the ball away quite often.
Failed to protect her backline properly, with Chinese Taipei moving the ball through central areas with ease.
Shilky Devi – 6.5/10
Shilky was actually pretty robust in midfield, being composed with her passing under pressure. She won a few nice duels, but lacked enough creativity to help India going forward.
Sanfida Nongrum – 5.5/10
Sanfida was a reasonably energetic figure for her side, passing the ball around decently and also helping with some defensive work.
However, she failed to create much or get at the end of chances.
Manisha Kalyan – 8/10
Manisha Kalyan finally proved how good she can be on the major stages with a thrilling display.
She was a menace with her forward movement, creating a few nice chances. She then scored an incredible free kick with a thunderous shot, but lack of support neutralized her in the second half.
Soumya Guguloth – 7/10
Guguloth had a thrilling start, hitting the post early on before putting a shot barely wide.
She was clever with her movement and link-up play, troubling the defenders and also earning the free-kick for Manisha’s goal.
Pyari Xaxa – 5.5/10
Pyari had a frustrating outing, as she gave away a cheap penalty with a handball at the end of the first half.
She showed aggression with her movement and execution, and struck the post late on, but failed to really bring that spark with her finishing.
Substitutes
Rimpa Haldar – 4.5/10
Rimpa was brought on to add creativity to the Indian frontline but failed to really do anything special. She saw all her cross attempts fail to test the players and couldn’t come close to scoring.
Lynda Kom – 4.5/10
Kom was barely able to get amongst the attacking chances, only making a few passes and losing the majority of her duels late on.
Kaviya Pakkisramy – 6/10
Kaviya was a bit of a threat with her clever forward runs, and did create a notable chance, but couldn’t come close to scoring.
Shreya Hooda – N/A
Made a few nice saves late on as Panthoi’s replacement.
Juli Kishan – N/A
Juli was also outwitted a few times by Chinese Taipei’s attacking style, but she didn’t really make any major mistakes leading to trouble late on.
Chinese Taipei Player Ratings (By Yash)
W. Yu-ting – 6/10
Her shift was cut short due to an injury in the second half. She couldn’t keep a clean sheet but stood strong against the Indian forward line and made a few saves in the process.
C. Chi-lan – 8/10
Chi-lan tracked back in time and regained her position to stop India’s counter attacks. She stood strong at the right back position and did not allow the Indian forwards to have a go at her. The right back executed perfect long balls that resulted in attacking moves for Chinese Taipei.
C. Ying-hui – 7/10
Ying-hui completed the majority of her passes to perfection and displayed her excellent ball distribution capabilities. She initiated link up with the forwards and did not shy away from playing risky but rewarding passes.
H. K. sin –7/10
She stood tall like a wall inside the box and made important headed clearances and did not let the Indian players capitalize on their chances. H K sin came off her line to clear away any danger that came her way.
S. Y. Su – 7/10
She put her body on the line for her side and made important defensive contributions in the process. Su blocked multiple crosses through the left flank while making crucial clearances.
W. Kai-ching – 7.5/10
She made multiple ball recoveries in the middle of the park. Kai ching split the Indian backline into two halves and executed a picture-perfect pass to set up Yu-Chin Chen for the third goal.
She was always involved in the thick of things for her side.
M. Saki – 8/10
She made crucial interceptions and blocked India’s line of passing. She sent in quality balls into the box through corners and set pieces. Saki was a livewire on the pitch and caused a lot of difficulties for India with her quick movements.
C. Chin-wen – 7.5/10
She used her pace and trickery to perfection and split up the Indian backline into two halves. The right winger took her time and confused the opposition defender before executing a goalscoring pass for Su Yu-Hsuan.
Chin Wen also came very close to scoring a goal but couldn’t keep her attempts on target.
H. Yi-yun – 8/10
She restored the lead for Chinese Taipei from the spot. The ball found the back of the net in the most unfortunate of ways for India, but H. Yi-yun wouldn’t complain.
She dropped deep to win the ball for his side and also helped out her defenders whenever needed.
Y. Chen – 8/10
She executed multiple key passes and initiated attacks for the Chinese Taipei. Y Chen kept on piling up the pressure on the Indian defenders with her swift moves across the pitch and eventually scored the third goal to seal the deal for her side.
Su Yu-Hsuan – 8/10
She scored the opening goal with an easy finish past the Indian defense and almost scored the second goal before being flagged offside.
Su Yu-Hsuan combined really well with her teammates up front and caused a lot of problems for the Indian players.
Substitutes
Cheng Ssu Yu – 8/10
Came on as a replacement for W. Yu-ting in the second half. She wasn’t involved for the majority of the game but pulled off a last minute save to deny India a goal in the dying minutes of the match.
Cheng made another crucial save and neutralized Manisha Kalyan’s explosive free kick.
Pei-Lin Teng – 7/10
She replaced C. Chi-lan late in the second half. Pei-Lin Teng put her body on the line for Chinese Taipei and sustained a minor head injury in the process.
Yu-syuan Lin – N/A
Chi Ting – N/A
Li Yi-wen – N/A
For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
Uttiyo is a sports journalist who has been covering football since 2016. He is an avid football enthusiast who spends hours either watching the beautiful game or writing about it. He has covered various tournaments for Khel Now, such as the FIFA U17 World Cup, ISL, I-League & AFC Champions League.