---
title: "Grace Dangmei retires from international football in India; third SAFF title as captain"
sdDatePublished: "2026-06-07T13:34:00Z"
source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/grace-dangmei-retirement-indian-women-football"
topics:
  - name: "football"
    identifier: "medtop:20001065"
  - name: "sport achievement"
    identifier: "medtop:20001301"
  - name: "sports honour"
    identifier: "medtop:20001304"
  - name: "sport"
    identifier: "medtop:15000000"
locations:
  - "Bangladesh"
  - "Uzbekistan"
  - "Manipur"
  - "India"
---


Grace Dangmei retires from international football in India; third SAFF title as captain

Grace Dangmei retires from international football after India’s SAFF Women’s Championship triumph

Grace Dangmei retires from international football after India’s SAFF Women’s Championship triumph

The veteran forward brought down the curtain on an illustrious international career after representing the Blue Tigresses in 95 matches and scoring 24 goals.

Indian women’s football team great Grace Dangmei announced her international retirement following India’s victory over Bangladesh in the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 final on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Indian footballer signed off on the perfect note, winning her third SAFF Women’s Championship title and lifting the trophy as captain during the prize distribution ceremony.

Although Grace did not start the match, she came on as a substitute and was later handed the captain’s armband, allowing her a fitting farewell in Indian colours.

“It was very emotional towards the end of the game, and it is really hard to say goodbye to something I love the most,” Grace said after the match.

Grace Dangmei retired from football after representing India 95 times since making her senior international debut in 2013.

Over the course of nearly 15 years, she established herself as one of the most influential players for the Indian women’s football team, for whom she scored 24 goals.

Born on February 5, 1996, to Simon Dangmei and Rita Dangmei, Grace Dangmei hails from Dimdailong village in Manipur.

She was a key member of the Indian teams that dominated South Asian women’s football over the past decade, helping India win the SAFF Women’s Championship titles in 2016, 2019 and 2026.

The forward also played a crucial role in securing South Asian Games gold medals in 2016 and 2019.

At the club level, Grace has enjoyed successful spells with some of the biggest teams in Indian women’s football, including KRYPHSA, Sethu FC, Gokulam Kerala and Sribhumi.

She has won two Indian Women’s League (IWL) titles with Gokulam and has also played multiple AFC competitions with the Kerala outfit.

Grace is also among the handful of Indian players who have played club football abroad. She helped FC Nasaf Karshi win the Uzbek domestic club and Cup titles in 2022, scoring four goals in 14 appearances.

Her contributions to Indian football were recognised through several individual honours, including the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year award in 2018-19 and the Indian Women’s League Emerging Player award in 2017-18.

Picture by All India Football Federation

Beacons who lit the way for women’s football in India