'If I lose, I’ll lose like a Tigress': Mile defiant despite loss

Bangladesh women's football team goalkeeper Mile Akter on Tuesday expressed determination to “play like a Tigress”, despite a 2-0 defeat to record nine-time champions China in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup debut.

The Bengal Tigresses opened their campaign against the tournament heavyweights, China, and fought bravely, but two goals separated the sides at full-time.

Speaking to T Sports, Mile insisted fear never gripped her on the big stage.

“I played with courage today, thinking that if I lose, I'll play like a Tigress and then lose. We'll see what happens later,” she stated.

“Actually, I wasn't that scared because everyone supported me a lot. Those who were around, the coach, my seniors, everyone supported me so much, so the fear didn't really affect me,” she added.

The goalkeeper also admitted that costly mistakes led to the two goals, but promised to respond strongly in the next outing.

“There were some mistakes; two goals were conceded. I will watch the video so that this mistake doesn't happen in the next match,” she concluded.