India forward Kaviya Pakkirisamy aims for a World Cup dream at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

Everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes it sits on a shelf until one day that story is pulled out and becomes a source of inspiration for thousands.

Kaviya Pakkirisamy is currently in the foothills of that stage.

The Indian international and Sethu FC forward finds himself with the national team in Australia, where the team is just one good tournament – the AFC Women’s Asian Cup – away from achieving the distant dream of qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup on merit.

For Kaviya, the journey has been anything but easy.

A school-level runner from Thiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, Kaviya learned to play football by watching others play from the sidelines. When she turned 18, relatives and villagers advised her to quit football – she had just played the Senior Nationals – and questioned her for wearing shorts and jerseys while playing.

It was her mother, Selva Mary, the backbone of her support, who believed in her.

Kaviya asked her mother for a chance at football, and if that didn’t work out, she would follow what her mother advised. She hasn’t had to look back since.

However, her biggest cheerleader, Selva, has never seen her play in person. «My mom (Selva) has only seen me play on the phone. She usually watches my matches and says, ‘Wow, you’re playing really well,’ and I tell her I do,» Kaviya said. Sports stars.

«My mother recently got emotional when I told her that I was returning to the Team India camp after recovering from an injury. Things were difficult at home during the rehabilitation – I couldn’t walk and my mother had to help me with everything.

“I used to watch the qualifiers – I was out with an ACL injury – and prayed a lot because I was working hard, and I knew that if the team qualified, I would definitely get into the squad,” she said.

In 2022, Kaviya moved to Bengaluru to play for Indian Women’s League side Kickstart FC. It meant the doting mother, based in Tamil Nadu, could no longer stay with her daughter.

RELATED: AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 schedule — Full list of teams, fixtures, kick-off times, locations

Time heals and the little girl from Thiruvarur has grown up. Although she has returned to a club from Tamil Nadu – Sethu FC – it has been more than six months since she last went home.

Her mother no longer asks when she will return, instead telling her that India needs to qualify for the World Cup – a thought that will resonate with millions of Indians when the Blue Tigers take the field for their opener against Vietnam on March 4.

“I played some good IWL matches after my recovery and right now my dream is to qualify for the World Cup,” she said.

Kaviya now has a different coach to play under on her return, with former Costa Rican women’s team manager Amelia Valverde taking charge of India, taking over from Crispin Chhetri, who is now an assistant coach.

But Kaviya doesn’t find working under the Costa Rican tactician much of a challenge as both Amelia and Chhetri share the same mentality.

«We have tough matches in Group C and we are being trained to compete with the competition. Sometimes when we don’t understand something, Crispin comes up and explains it to us. Overall the camp atmosphere was very positive,» she added.

A giant leap for women’s football in Tamil Nadu

Kaviya’s success could also boost football in Tamil Nadu, especially women’s football.

Midfielders Karthika Angamuthu and Priyadharshini Selladurai were part of the team that traveled for the Asian Cup qualifiers last year, while goalkeeper Sowmiya Narayanasamy and Kaviya are in the squad for the tournament in Australia.

«From my generation, parents did not allow women to play football because they were influenced by what others said. But now times have changed. When children see us, they are inspired to become like us. When I see schoolgirls in sixth or seventh grade playing football, it makes me very happy,» she added.

Kaviya has played for Sethu for the past two IWL seasons and credits the club’s fame for helping its growth. She has scored six goals in the 2023/24 season, including a winner against Odisha Sports, and has scored three times in the current season so far.

«I studied in a government school and didn’t know English or Hindi. When I moved to my club, I started speaking a little English and Hindi,» she said.

ALSO READ: Manisha Kalyan joins India camp ahead of AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026

Although Kaviya missed out on selection for the Asian Cup qualifiers, Chettri believes she came back stronger after her recovery and was in top form for Sethu recently.

«I have watched Kaviya from her days at Kickstart FC. I have been involved in women’s football for four years and have seen her growth. She has always had quality and deserves the international stage,» Chettri told Sportstar.

In January, Kaviya finally made her senior team debut and reached the confirmed Asian Cup squad after a four-week training camp in Turkey.

«Kaviya has been brilliant in the IWL over the years. She has been involved in goals and assists. I hope she does the same with the national team,» Chhetri added.

Kaviya’s journey was one for the books. She had to leave the national selection camps twice due to injuries, but never took a step back.

«A lot of people were looking forward to my downfall, and it happened. Good for them. But I learned lessons from it. I started working harder. I knew I was destined for better things and that the problems I encountered were temporary. That’s how I saw it,» she said.

For Kaviya, the recovery and warm-up are over. Now comes the dream: to help India write history and become part of a story that will be passed on to generations.

Published on February 28, 2026