Grace Dangmei called time on her international career after India’s win over Bangladesh in the SAFF Women’s Championship Final. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

Grace Dangmei’s decision to retire from international football was being mulled over for about a year.

“When we played the Asian Cup Qualifiers in Thailand (June, 2025), I was thinking of retiring. But we qualified and then I came to Australia. There, the result wasn’t in our hands, but I took a call. If we win the SAFF Championship then I will retire. So I have been thinking for a long time,” Grace told  Sportstar a few days after the aforementioned SAFF Women’s Championship in Goa.

India clinched the SAFF title for the first time in seven years after beating Bangladesh 3-1 in the final. In the official match report published by AIFF, the news of Grace’s retirement from India duty was revealed. It seemed like quite an antithetical conclusion to a career which spanned for 13 years, where she represented the Blue Tigresses 96 times and netted 24 goals.

However, the revelation perhaps seemed sudden because it was Grace’s impromptu decision during the summit clash which caught everyone in the team off guard.

“I told Mario (Aguiar), our goalkeeping coach, during the warm up that I’ll retire after this match. So, I told him to give me a chance in this match (laughs). He said that he’ll speak to the coach. Head coach Crispin (Chettri) was angry because I didn’t tell him earlier, but I was just smiling. I didn’t want to announce this before the final because there was tension and pressure, and I didn’t want to disturb the preparations,” Grace recalled.

India was comfortably leading 3-1 when Grace was introduced into the play in the 86th minute, replacing Pyari Xaxa on the pitch, for what would be her last act as an India international.

So, why hang up the boots (from international football) now?

“I want to go on and do things other than football. I took the stand because now there are lots of junior players who can play for the national team. It’s not because of physical fitness or anything. I just want to focus on my next step after football,” the 30-year-old started.

“I approached some senior players and asked them whether this would be the right decision. They said yes because if we stay in a place for too long then our value goes down.”

Beginnings in Bishnupur

Around 2008, Grace was a budding sprinter. She even went to seek admission at SAI NERC in Imphal with her father. However, the centre was filled with older people, which made her uncomfortable. Grace was advised by her father to stop playing for a bit and focus on studies. But as fate would have it, soon after a friend came to her with a proposition of being a part of a football team.

“She told me there’s a tournament going on in our area, and one person was needed. I asked my father, and he gave me permission. And I played football for the first time. Once I started training after a coach told me whether I was interested, I would run after school, change quickly, and take whatever vehicle available to go for practice,” Grace reminisced from her home in Bishnupur in Manipur.

But for the past three years, her State barely resembles the place she’d once began her football journey in. Manipur has been embroiled in an ethnic conflict, with Grace’s hometown — located in the Churachandpur district — at the centre of unrest recently. The footballer hoped that peace prevails soon.

“Manipur’s situation is such that we have to be alert all the time. Whenever we go out, anything can happen on the road. It’s really terrifying. I hope the government, the leaders of every community come to a decision and then bring peace for all the people. Things like the education system and people’s livelihood have been affected. So I hope this situation settles as soon as possible and normalcy is brought back,” she urged.

Regrets, highs, and the future

When asked about the one regret from her international career, the answer could have been pre-empted almost immediately. “Not able to qualify for the World Cup, that will be the one regret for the rest of my life. It’s not like we didn’t get the chance to, but we weren’t able to.”

But one moment, perhaps the zenith of her India career for her, that Grace knows by heart is the 2019 SAFF Women’s Championship in Nepal. Coincidentally, that year is also her best in terms of goals scored (11).

“Under Maymol (Rocky) coach, we were playing the final against Nepal. I remember the meeting we had, everyone was very emotional. The host was being backed by local fans and not even one supporter for India could be seen. Dalima (Chibber) scored first but then they equalised. I scored the second and then Anju (Tamang) scored the third goal. We won the final in front of the Nepal crowd, and that will remain as one of the most memorable moments of my life.”

While Grace has called time on her international career, she will continue playing club football — an ecosystem she has seen evolve for years. The veteran — who was captain of Sribhumi FC for the 2025/26 season — admitted that the Indian Women’s League (IWL) has improved in the last three to four years, but a lot more could be done.

“There have been some improvements and some bad things. Like recently, we had the home-away system which suddenly stopped. I think the number of teams and matches should be increased so that players get more playing time. Moreover, the men have tournaments like the Durand Cup and others. For us, it’s just the IWL and the Senior Nationals. If AIFF could introduce more tournaments for the women then that would help a lot,” she began.

“The financial status is a bit better, but I expect more if the budget increases gradually. Not like the men’s but something stable. In terms of international exposure, AIFF has given us friendlies, something which wasn’t there when I started playing back in 2013. The only matches we would play would be the AFC Asian Cup qualifying round,” she added.

Finally, the time came to ask Grace what her future plans were, now that the weight of wearing the Indian jersey had been lifted. She kept her cards close, despite slight probing, but revealed that her future involved studying further. And as for club football?

“I’ll play freely with no tension,” she laughed.

Published on Jun 25, 2026