Bangladesh’s teenage forward Sauravi Akanda Prity is eager to make the most of any opportunity she gets at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which begins on Sunday.

The Bangladesh Women’s National Football Team are set to compete in Asia’s premier women’s football tournament for the first time in history, marking a landmark moment for the country’s women’s game.

Prity, just 16 years and three months old, made her senior international debut in 2025 but has yet to establish herself as a regular starter. However, her reputation as one of Bangladesh’s brightest prospects was built on her prolific performances at youth level.

She was the top scorer at the 2022 SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship with nine goals in four matches. At the 2024 SAFF U-16 Women’s Championship, she won the Best Player of the Tournament award after finishing as the leading scorer with five goals. She also represented Bangladesh at the 2025 SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship, where she struck a memorable hat-trick.

Now, the gifted youngster is waiting for her chance to make her debut on the Asian stage — and hopes to make it count.

“This is the first time Bangladesh has come to such a big stage, so it feels really special. If I get a chance to play in the AFC Asian Cup, I will give my best effort for the team,” Prity said after the team’s training session at Jubilee Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

She added that the squad has held two more training sessions following their friendly match against Western Sydney Wanderers, with the coaching staff focusing on correcting mistakes from that game.

“Training is going very well in all aspects. We are mainly concentrating on improving our mistakes,” she said.

Bangladesh will begin their campaign against nine-time champions China on March 3 before taking on North Korea and Uzbekistan in their remaining group matches.