Meet Assam’s Gitika Talukdar, The Only Indian Woman Selected To Cover 2026 FIFA World Cup

Gitika Talukdar is the only Indian woman selected by FIFA to cover the 2026 Men's FIFA World Cup. The photojournalist from Assam will be covering her third consecutive men's World Cup after Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Over nearly two decades, Gitika has built a strong reputation in sports photography. She has covered the 2019 and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cups, the Tokyo Olympics, and the Paris Olympics.

Born in Arunachal Pradesh and closely connected to Assam, Gitika studied in Kendriya Vidyalayas before pursuing Global Sports Management at Seoul National University through a scholarship.

Despite being told that sports photography was not a career for women, she continued to break barriers and establish herself in international sports journalism.