SAFF Women's Championship 2026: Crispin Chettri's tactics, impressive youngsters & more talking points from India's winning campaign

India beat Bangladesh to secure sixth SAFF Women’s Championship title

The Indian women’s national team led by Crispin Chettri created history after lifting their sixth SAFF Women’s Championship title after a long wait of seven years.

India had an absolutely dominating campaign in this edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship. After a heartbreaking campaign in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, the Blue Tigresses parted ways with Amelia Valverde and Crispin Chettri took over as the head coach.

India were drawn alongside Maldives and defending champions Bangladesh. It was a herculean task for India to finish atop the table after failing to do so in the last edition. But India managed to navigate the group stages well after scoring 14 goals in 2 games and conceding none.

In the semifinal, India defeated Bhutan 1-0 and thrashed Bangladesh 3-1 in the finals to win their sixth SAFF Women’s Championship title.

In this article, we take a look at the key talking points from India’s title-winning campaign at the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026. Did the Blue Tigresses struggle to convert their chances, and has Crispin Chettri done enough to establish himself as India’s long-term head coach?

Panthoi emerges as India’s goalkeeping leader

India conceded just a single goal in the entire tournament. The Blue Tigresses kept three clean sheets against teams like Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Indeed, India’s defence was resolute and good at times, but the main credit for this remarkable feat goes to Panthoi Chanu.

There is no slightest hesitation in admitting that Panthoi is the best goalkeeper in South Asia currently. Not only has she impressed with the national team, but she was also unbeatable in the IWL and helped East Bengal win back to back titles.

Whether it be making those crucial saves against Bhutan in the semis or denying Bangladesh any chance of a potential comeback in the finals, she was very reliable between the sticks. She was one of the main protagonists behind India’s dominating campaign in SAFF 2026.

India’s youngsters impress at SAFF Women’s Championship 2026

The most valuable player of SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 and the player of the match in the final, Sanfida Nongrum just turned 21. The leading goalscorer of tournament, Aveka Singh is 22. Lynda Kom who scored twice after coming from bench is 21.

The future of Indian women’s football looks bright as the young players are leading India from the front. They have impressed a lot in the tournament and most importantly stepped up when their team needed them the most.

Both the goals India scored in the second half against Bangladesh in the finals were scored by the youngsters. Even in the semifinal, it was Sanfida’s goal that separated the two teams.

India may have found its long-term coach in Crispin Chettri

Maybe it is high time India starts building their future around Crispin Chettri. There was a lot of uncertainty around Crispin’s future after Amelia Valverde was roped in just before the AFC Asian Cup, despite Chettri being the main man leading India to the AFC Asian Cup 2026.

After Valverde’s departure, Chettri took over, and he redeemed himself by winning a bronze in the FIFA Series 2026 in Kenya and winning the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 after seven years.

Crispin is a veteran in the Indian football ecosystem, who has previously won several accolades with Odisha FC, Odisha state team and Sethu FC.

India still have problems to address

Despite India being flawless against other teams in the tournament, they struggled to convert chances. Whether it be burying those chances against Bangladesh in the first half or failing to score more than once against Bhutan in the semifinal, the Indian strikers have to be more clinical with the finishing.

Also, in the final against Bangladesh, the defense looked a bit sloppy and Bangladesh outplayed India in the wings so many times. Though India managed to keep clean sheet against every single team in the SAFF Women’s Championship, the defensive errors must be ratified.

It is indeed a moment of pride for the Indian women’s national team to win the SAFF Women’s Championship after seven years. However, with such a brilliant team, India must not settle for anything less and keep aspiring to play regularly in AFC Women’s Asian Cup across all age groups.

One of the main reasons behind India’s success in the SAFF Women’s Championship was the fact that these players got enough game time and got exposure to play against quality opponents.

The road ahead won’t be easy, and India must not aspire for anything less than the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2029 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2031.

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