Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], March 20 (ANI): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma met footballer Sanfida Nongrum on Friday and hailed her historic achievement of scoring India's first goal in 23 years at the AFC Women's Asian Cup.

Sanfida Nongrum scored the country's first goal at the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 when she found the net in the 52nd minute against Vietnam in India's opening match at the Perth Rectangular Stadium on March 4. She also made history as the first woman from Meghalaya to represent India at the senior level, marking a major milestone for the state in women's football.

In a post on X, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma praised Sanfida Nongrum as a pride of Meghalaya for her historic goal and milestone achievement. He extended his support and wished her continued success at both national and international levels.

'It was a pleasure meeting Sanfida Nongrum today, a true pride of our state. Her historic achievement of scoring India's first goal in 23 years at the AFC Women's Asian Cup and becoming the first woman from Meghalaya to represent India at the senior level is nothing short of remarkable. Glad to extend my support to her as she continues to shine on the national and international stage. Wishing her continued success,' Conrad Sangma said in the X post.

https://x.com/SangmaConrad/status/2034877841394081812?s=20

While Sanfida scored India's first goal in 23 years at the continental tournament, she expressed after the match against Vietnam that the joy of scoring was mixed with the disappointment of the result, as India went down 2-1.

'Although I'm happy to score my first goal on my debut for India, I feel bad that we lost in the last moments. We will take our learnings and move forward to the Japan match,' she had said after the game.

Coming to India's campaign at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the Blue Tigresses could not win a match and bowed out after three defeats in as many games in the group-stage. They lost 2-1 to Vietnam in their opening fixture, and they faced a humbling defeat at the hands of Japan as they went down 11-0 before suffering a 3-1 loss to Chinese Taipei. (ANI)