New Delhi: India had heart but not the ‘rub of the green’ often needed in crunch contests as they were eliminated from the Women’s Asian Cup after a 3-1 loss to Chinese Taipei in their final group game in Sydney on Tuesday.

They struck the post twice from corners, once in the opening and closing stages, conceding in between in unfortunate fashion when a penalty ricocheted off the back of keeper Panthoi Chanu’s outstretched hand to sneak in.

It made them trail at 2-1 at half time, overturning which in a must-win game proved to be too tall as task for the girls who rain their hearts out at the Western Sydney Stadium.

Our #WAC2026 journey ends. #WAC2026 #BlueTigresses #AsiaDream #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/p0uv2OQovb

— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) March 10, 2026

Had India gone into the break at 1-1, they would have given themselves a great opportunity to push for a win they required to qualify for the quarter-finals, where Taipei would now be as the second best team from the group after Japan.

But a flailing arm from Pyari Xaxa gave away a penalty in a moment of indiscretion moments before the halftime whistle, the resultant spot kick from YY Hsu rebounded into the net off the back of India keeper Panthoi’s outstretched right hand.

In pushing up to score, India left spaces behind that Chinese Taipei used to release YC Chen for an opportunity to round an advancing Panthoi and roll the ball into an empty net on 77 minutes, just as they did to intercept Manju’s weak back pass under pressure for Yh Su with the simplest of finishes in the 12th minute.

Manisha sparkles

These self-inflicted mistakes aside, India went toe to toe with their opponent ranked 27 slot above them in FIFA rankings.

Martina Thokchom struck the post with a header in the second minute, followed by Soumya Guguloth placing her shot inches wide after being fed by Manisha Kalyan, whose thunderbolt free-kick pulled India level on 39 minutes.

Kalyan closely marked throughout the match, yet she found space and time to turn and either look for her team-mates to run into her through balls or unleash a stunning 25-yarder that crashed in off the cross bar and was marked as a goal after a VAR check.

The predominantly left-footed player’s crisp first touch were behind most of India’s meaningful attacks while greater physicality enabled her to absorb all harsh challenges she was subjected to.

India needed more of that sure-footedness but not all were as equipped as Kalyan, which meant they would return with three losses (Vietnam 2-1 and Japan 11-0) but that would only say half of the story.