The Indian football team beat the Maldives 11-0 in its opening Group B match at the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 played at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Monday.
Aveka Singh (34′, 66′, 70′, 86′) was the star of the show with four goals while Priyangka Naorem (11′, 17′) and Karishma (53′, 68′) both registered a brace. Pyari Xaxa (28′), Dangmei Grace (40′) and Sangita Basfore (60′) accounted for the rest of the goals.
India, 69th in the FIFA women’s football rankings, started the game on the front foot against the world No. 167 Maldives.
India had the ball in the back of the Maldives net just before the five minute mark after Dangmei Grace selflessly set up Pyari Xaxa for a tap-in. The goal, however, was ruled out due to an offside.
The hosts went ahead six minutes later though as Priyangka Devi, returning to the squad after recovering from an ACL injury, got the final touch on a Sangita Basfore cross from close range.
India could’ve doubled the lead moments later but Xaxa was denied by the Maldives goalkeeper.
Priyangka, though, left the opposition custodian with no chance soon after as she latched onto a probing through ball and slotted in from inside the box for her second goal.
Xaxa finally got her name on the scoresheet just before the half-hour mark as the Maldives keeper failed to keep out the Indian striker’s shot from range.
The custodian was at fault again as Aveka Singh’s free-kick took a bounce in front of her and made the scoreline 4-0. India skipper Dangmei Grace then made it 5-0 before the half-time break.
With a sizeable lead, the Indian women’s football team went for the kill in the second half and pumped in six more with Aveka Singh scoring half of these in the period. She also picked up two assists and finished the match with six goal contributions.
Maldives, on the other hand, hardly threatened the Indian goal as Panthoi Chanu was left relatively undisturbed throughout the match.
Record five-time SAFF Women’s Championship champions India will face reigning champions Bangladesh in their next match on Sunday.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/saff-women-championship-2026-india-vs-maldives-group-football-report
