SAFF Women's Championship 2026: Top three Bhutan players to watch out for against India

Bhutan eye their first SAFF Women’s Championship final

The Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao gears up to host the semi-final fixture of SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 between India and Bhutan. Both teams have made it to the semi-finals in the last two editions but have failed to play the finals.

India are coming after thrashing Maldives 11-0 in the opener and in the group deciding clash against Bangladesh, Crispin’s girls went on to score thrice against the defending champions to finish as the table toppers of Group B.

Bhutan, on the other hand, suffered a defeat to Nepal in the opening encounter. But the Dragon Ladies bounced back strongly against Sri Lanka after defeating them.

As much as this looks like an easy win for India, it is not actually one as India have choked in the last two semi-finals, and Bhutan are in good form.

In this article, we take a closer look at the top three players from Bhutan to keep an eye on in the game against India as they could actually cause a big upset in the semi finals.

Pema Choden Tshering

The captain of the Bhutan women’s team, Tshering, is coming after scoring a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in a 4-0 demolition that propelled Bhutan to their third consecutive semi-finals. She currently plays for Thimphu City FC in Bhutan Premier League.

She is lethal infront of the goal and scoring hattricks has always been her favourite thing. She is the first women’s player from Bhutan to score a hattrick against Saudi Arabia in a friendly game.

Though the Indian defense has been rock solid in this edition of SAFF Women’s Championship, the team needs to be wary of the threats posed by the Bhutanese captain, who will be raring to go all guns blazing to propel her side into their first ever SAFF Finals.

Deki Lhazom

Bhutan’s all-time top goalscorer Deki Lhazom plays for Royal Thimphu College Women’s FC that recently played in the AFC Women’s Champions League in 2024–25.

The first Bhutanese player to play abroad, Lhazom was signed by Saudi giants Al Ittihad to play in the Saudi Women’s Premier League, where she was equally impressive.

She is also coming after scoring a goal against Sri Lanka recently. Unlike other Bhutanese players, she has actual experience playing across top continental leagues and domestic leagues across Asia and will be a major goal scoring threat for her side.

Sonam Choden

Nicknamed Chungku, Choden also plays for Royal Thimphu College in the Bhutanese top division. As many media outlets reported, she has solidified her reputation as one of Bhutan’s brightest football talents.

She has extensive experience previously playing in India after making a move to the IWL side Kickstart FC. She is a dominating presence in the midfield, who will be eager to win those pocket-sized battles in the centre of the park.

She offers defensive stability to Bhutan and managed to keep a clean sheet against Sri Lanka, and just conceded only one goal in the tournament so far.

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