Mighty japan

Olympic Qualifiers Round: There are challenges, and then there are challenges. The Indian senior women's team, who had effortlessly trounced Kyrgyz Republic in the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 in April, will open their Round 2 campaign against one of the world's best, Japan.

The clash with the former world champions will take place on Thursday, at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent. The Blue Tigresses landed in the Uzbek capital on Monday evening after a training camp in Abha, Saudi Arabia.

With the weather not too dissimilar in Tashkent, which is only slightly cooler, and having played in Uzbekistan as recently as March, Thomas Dennerby and his side haven't taken too long to get settled. India were last in competitive action in the 19th Asian Games in China last month, losing both games to Chinese Taipei and Thailand, two higher-ranked teams.