The Indian women’s national team will play their first-ever international matches in Kolkata, taking on Russia in two friendlies at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan on October 8 and 11, during the FIFA women’s international match window. The fixtures will be India’s first international matches since they were crowned winners of the SAFF Women’s Championship for a record-extending sixth time in June. The window in October will provide the 69th-ranked India with an opportunity to test themselves against a strong European opposition. Russia are ranked 27th in the world.
It will also mark India’s first appearance in West Bengal since the 2016 SAFF Women’s Championship, which was held in Siliguri and saw the Blue Tigresses lift the title. It remains the only previous occasion on which the Indian women’s national team played in the state.
The Russian women’s national team last travelled to India in 1994 for the eight-nation Jayalalitha Cup in Chennai. India were eliminated in the group stage, while Russia, who were placed in a different group, went on to finish runners-up.
The fixtures next month will be the third and fourth meetings between India and Russia. Both their previous two encounters came in international friendly tournaments in neutral venues. India suffered a 0-8 defeat to Russia at the Turkish Women’s Cup in 2021, before losing 0-2 at the Pink Ladies Cup 2025 in the UAE.
Indian women’s national team head coach Crispin Chettri said, “Playing against quality opposition is always valuable for the development of the team. We have already faced Russia at the Pink Ladies Cup in Dubai, where we lost 2-0, so these matches will give us another opportunity to test ourselves against a strong side.
“While results are important, we also have to look at these games with a long-term vision. It is important to give opportunities to upcoming players, expose them to high-level opposition and continue developing a squad that can perform at the international level in the future.”
The Blue Tigresses have been training in Kolkata since September 18. Chettri will finalise and name the squad closer to the matches.
“Having Kolkata host these matches will also be a huge opportunity for the players. They will not only get to play against a quality team like Russia, but, hopefully, in front of a good crowd as well.
“Experiencing the expectations and atmosphere that come with playing in front of fans is also part of their development. These are the habits and experiences we need to build if we want to compete at a higher international level.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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