Bangladesh’s Sweden-born forward Anika Rania Siddique has expressed optimism about defending the title at the upcoming SAFF Women’s Championship, with the 2026 edition set to be held in India later this month.
The Bangladesh team completed their fifth training session in Thailand on Thursday, after which Anika spoke about their ongoing camp in the hot weather conditions.
“The journey has been good so far. We started in Chittagong — it was a week-long camp for me. It was a good start, and now we’re here in Thailand. It’s very hot, but we’re managing the weather and taking it day by day,” said Anika.
Anika scored in Bangladesh’s 2-0 victory over Thai club Kasem Bundit Women's FC in a closed-door practice match last Monday.
“It was a good start. I’m happy to score a goal. There’s still a long way to go, but I feel more confident and more comfortable now. I hope for more goals and better results in the future,” she added.
“The facilities here in Thailand are great. We’ve got a quality pitch, dressing rooms, ice baths — everything. I think this will help us a lot. The weather is very hot here, so it should help us manage conditions better in India.”
Anika earned her maiden national team call-up ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, where she made her international debut in the red and green jersey.
The SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 will get underway in Goa on May 25. The Bangladesh team is scheduled to fly to the host city on May 21.
Bangladesh will begin their SAFF campaign against Maldives on May 28 before facing five-time champions India on May 31.
“The expectations are very high. We want to win. We will do our best to bring the cup home to Bangladesh,” said Anika, as the Tigresses aim to clinch the SAFF title for a third consecutive time.