India’s campaign in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 came to an end after a 3–1 defeat to the Chinese Taipei women’s national football team in their final Group C match at Western Sydney Stadium in Australia on Tuesday.

The result meant the India women’s national football team finished bottom of the group without a point, bringing their tournament journey to a disappointing close.

India started the must-win match with urgency and looked to push forward quickly through the wings. However, a defensive lapse gave Chinese Taipei an early advantage.

In the 12th minute, a poor back pass from Sanju went straight to Chen Jin-wen, who quickly squared the ball to Su Yu-hsuan. With goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu already off her line, Su had the simple task of tapping the ball into the empty net to make it 1–0.

Despite the setback, India continued to attack and tried to create chances through the flanks. Their efforts paid off in the 39th minute when Manisha Kalyan produced a moment of brilliance.

The winger struck a powerful free kick from long range, with the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar before bouncing over the goal line to level the score at 1–1.

India’s joy was short-lived as Chinese Taipei regained the lead in stoppage time of the first half. Pyari Xaxa was penalised for handling the ball inside the box, leading to a penalty. Hsu Yi-yun’s spot kick hit the post but rebounded off the back of goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu and rolled into the net.

The unfortunate deflection was recorded as an own goal, giving Chinese Taipei a 2–1 lead going into the break.

The second half remained open with both sides creating opportunities. India pushed forward in search of another equaliser but struggled to convert their chances despite getting into promising positions.

Chinese Taipei eventually sealed the match in the 77th minute when Chen Yu-chin exploited a large gap in India’s defence, ran onto a through ball, sidestepped the goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the net to make it 3–1.

India finished the match with 13 attempts on goal but only three were on target, highlighting their struggles in front of goal. The defeat also capped a difficult tournament for India, who had earlier lost 2–1 to Vietnam in their opening match before suffering an 11–0 defeat against Japan. With three losses in three games, India ended their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 campaign winless and without a point.