Rituparna Chakma, who scored twice to secure an incredible victory for Bangladesh, called on supporters to stay by their side in the journey ahead.
With the win over Bahrain, Bangladesh took a significant step toward fulfilling their dream. Defeating the strongest opponent in the group, Myanmar, marked their biggest leap yet. Now, reaching the main stage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup is mostly a matter of time. However, Rituparna stayed grounded, reminding everyone that the real challenge of qualifying for the main tournament is still ahead.
On Wednesday, in Yangon’s Thuwunna Stadium, Bangladesh beat host Myanmar 2-1 in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers. Rituparna scored at the 18th and 72nd minutes to secure the win, while Myanmar’s Win Win pulled one back late in the game.
Bangladesh had started their campaign with a 7-0 win over Bahrain. With two consecutive wins and 6 points, Peter James Butler’s team sits atop Group C. On Saturday, the team will face Turkmenistan in their third and final group match.
Among the four teams in the group, Turkmenistan is the lowest-ranked at 141st in the FIFA rankings. They began qualifiers with a heavy 8-0 loss to Myanmar. A win against them is expected, but Rituparna remains cautious and does not take anything for granted.
Myanmar, ranked 55th, is the strongest team in the group and had previously beaten Bangladesh 5-0. Rituparna did not hide her joy at this victory over Myanmar and asked fans to keep supporting the team going forward.
“First of all, I want to say that we came here from Bangladesh with a goal—to win match by match. We’ve all tried to give our best performances, and we have achieved results accordingly.”
“To the supporters, thank you so much for your support. Please keep supporting us in the same way in the future as well.”
