Speaking
live
on
AIFF
TV,
the
24-year-old
maintained
the
influx
of
youngsters
in
the
National
Team
has
made
the
rest
more
responsible
athletes.
“I
was
one
of
the
youngsters
before,
looking
up
to
the
other
players.
Now,
there
are
so
many
youngsters
who
have
come
in
from
the
U-17
and
U-19
squads,
and
they
look
up
to
us,”
said
Dalima.
“That
has
changed
the
approach
a
bit.
With
the
new
players
coming
in,
the
responsibility
falls
on
us
to
make
them
comfortable.
But
other
than
that,
it’s
still
the
same.”
With
less
than
2
weeks
left
for
the
AFC
Asian
Cup
to
kick-off,
the
players
in
the
Blue
Tigresses’ camp
are
as
excited
as
ever,
to
get
the
ball
rolling
on
January
20,
when
they
face
off
against
IR
Iran.
“We’ve
been
preparing
for
a
while
now,
and
we
have
all
been
together
for
six
months
with
a
number
of
exposure
matches.
We’ve
had
some
good
wins,
and
we
have
had
a
few
losses
as
well,”
Dalima
expressed.
“But
the
most
important
thing
is
that
we
have
learnt
a
lot.
We
are
all
excited,
and
can’t
wait
to
get
going.”
The
Indian
Women’s
Team
has
played
in
six
different
countries
in
2021,
in
the
lead
up
to
the
AFC
Women’s
Asian
Cup
India
2022,
and
Dalima
believes
that
the
experience
earned,
especially
in
places
like
Sweden
and
Brazil
was
immense.
“A
lot
has
changed,
especially
the
number
of
exposure
matches
that
we
have
been
playing
in
Brazil,
Sweden,
Turkey
and
so
on.
Brazil
was
a
big
learning
curve
for
us,
to
see
the
hub
of
football
culture
and
to
understand
what
football
really
means
to
everyone
there,” she
said.
Head
coach
Thomas
Dennerby
had
taken
over
the
senior
team
in
August
and
brings
in
the
experience
of
coaching
in
Sweden,
and
Nigeria
as
well.
“I
think
the
coach
has
given
us
a
lot
of
confidence.
He
gives
us
a
pep
talk
before
every
game,
and
he
tells
us
how
we
are
all
capable,
and
how
much
he
and
the
staff
believe
in
us
all.
For
me,
personally,
that
gives
a
lot
of
confidence
to
fight
it
out,”
she
informed.
“He
has
brought
in
a
mental
toughness
in
the
squad
—
whether
it’s
chanting,
whether
it’s
running,
whether
it’s
conditioning,
whether
it’s
speed,
whether
it’s
the
technical
aspect,
or
it’s
a
tactical
aspect.
We’ve
been
able
to
focus
on
every
part
of
the
game
in
detail.
We’ve
been
able
to
highlight
that
we’ve
been
able
to
improve.
We’ve
been
able
to
come
together
as
a
team,
and
improve
our
games
building
up
to
the
Asian
Cup.”
“The
dream
for
us
is
to
reach
the
FIFA
World
Cup.
So
when
we
went
to
Brazil
to
play
against
Brazil,
it
was
a
dream
come
true.
But
like
going
to
Brazil
playing
against
those
teams
was
the
start
of
a
dream
because
we
know
where
we
have
to
be,”
she
stated.
“And
that
was
just
like
a
stepping
stone.
We
realised
what
world
football
is
like,
and
what
kind
of
football
the
teams
that
are
at
the
top
level
who
play
in
the
World
Cup
and
Olympics
play.
So
for
us
it
was
a
very
big
learning
curve.”
AIFF
Media
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