Football Fans Manipur

LUDHIANA: Gokulam Kerala posted their third win in as many games, as they demolished SSB Women Football Club by a massive margin of 5-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Thursday.

Anju Tamang was the star of the show, as she scored a brace, and played a crucial role in the Kerala side’s build-up plays, helping them to spread the ball to the wings, essentially stretching the game in order to cause problems for the SSB defence.

Gokulam started the game off swiftly, as they broke the deadlock straight from the kick-off. An intricate move was finished off by India international Anju Tamang. The entire move took Gokulam just 14 seconds, which makes this the fastest goal scored in the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Women’s League.

SSB, however, were not ready to give up, and kept surging forward in search of the equaliser. Sangita Basfore, who generally plays midfield for the Indian Women’s Team, was the focal point of their attacks up front.

The game ebbed and flowed both ways, but it was Gokulam, who put the doubts to bed, when Anita Rawat scored minutes before the half time break. Sanju soared up the left flank and sent in a low cross that was tapped in by Rawat.

Gokulam started off in almost exactly the same fashion in the second half as well, when they got the ball from SSB, registered a shot on target from Ranjana Chanu, and watched in delight as the opposition keeper Manju fumbled the ball over the goal-line.

As it that was not enough, Bawitlung Vanlalhriattiri made it four with a little over a quarter of an hour of regulation time left on the clock. The second half substitute was played through on goal, as she rounded off the keeper, sold a dummie and walked the ball into an unguarded goal.

By virtue of this win, Gokulam have now taken a massive lead at the top of the Group II table with nine points. They are followed by FC Alakhpura, SSB, Hans Women FC and Panjim Footballers, all of whom have just three points on the board so far.

Tamang added another goal in the second-last minute of regulation time to make it another 5-goal victory for the Kerala side.

LUDHIANA: Panjim Footballers posted their first win of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Women’s League season, as they pipped FC Alakhpura 2-1 in a tight affair at the Guru Nanak Stadium, in Ludhiana, on Thursday.

Karishma Shirvoikar broke the Alakhpura defence twice to help PAnjim earn the three points, but it was the tactical defence of Scindia Saudatikar that stole the show and earned the defender the Player of the Match Award.

It was a tight affair between two sides that seems to have had each other sized-up pretty well. However, it was Panjim, who broke the deadlock early on in the game.

Karishma Shirvoikar beat the Alakhpura offside trap, ran on to an aerial ball that was played in behind the defence, and slipped it past the Alakhpura keeper Neelam to put Panjim in the lead.

Having taken the lead, Panjim were happy to sit back and let Alakhpura have the ball, while they concentrated on keeping their defensive shape intact.

Keeping their backline strong was a strategy that worked wonders for Panjim, who had conceded three in their previous match against Hans Women FC.

It took them a little over 10 minutes after the start of the second half to double the score. Again, it was an aerial ball played in behind the defence, as Karishma ran on to the ball and lobbed it over the keeper.

Alakhpura kept knocking on the door and Panjim finally budged from a set-piece, as the Haryana side's India U-18 International Samiksha expertly nodded it in.

NEW DELHI: The Indian U-16 National Team has been drawn in Group B of the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers 2020 alongside hosts Uzbekistan, Bahrain and Turkmenistan for the qualifiers that are slated to kick-off from September 18-22, 2019.

The Indian U-16 National Team had grabbed eye balls in the AFC U-16 Championship 2018 and were one match away from securing qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019, under Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes, but lost by a narrow margin of 1-0 against Korea Republic in the Quarter-finals.

The Indian U-16s had won 0-1 against Vietnam and played two goalless draws against Islamic Republic of Iran and Indonesia respectively in the group stage to set up the clash with Korea Republic.

Meanwhile, the top spot in the respective groups will earn direct qualification, while the four best second-placed teams will also advance to the 2020 Finals from th
e AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers. Should the hosts for the Finals finish either top of their group or among the best four second-placed teams, the next (5th) second-placed team in the ranking among all groups will qualify instead.

GROUP B: India, Uzbekistan (H), Bahrain, Turkmenistan.

NEW DELHI: The Indian U-19 National Team has been drawn in Group F of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers 2020 alongside hosts Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in the qualifiers that are slated from November 2-10, 2019.

Head Coach of the Indian U-19 National Team Floyd Pinto said, “It is a tough draw for us and we are aware of the strengths our opponents possess. But at the same time the boys have shown that they can fight against some of the best teams (in the Hero I-League) and we are hopeful of our qualification chances”

“We would have to be on the top of our game if we are to qualify from this group”, he added.

In 2017, the Indian U-19s were also drawn with Saudi Arabia as hosts. But despite a 3-0 win over Turkmenistan and a 0-0 draw against Yemen, a 5-0 loss to Saudi Arabia could not help their chance of progression from the qualifiers, with only one team making it through to the Championship.

GROUP F: Saudi Arabia (H), Uzbekistan, India, Afghanistan

LUDHIANA: Manipur Police rode the success of their star striker Bala Devi to demolish a young SAI-STC Cuttack by a humongous margin of 10-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, here, on Wednesday.

The mercurial striker scored seven goals in the match – four in the first half and three in the second.

It was a show of strength by Manipur Police, who were eager to bounce back after their defeat against Sethu FC.

Bala Devi was on target from the start, and she took only 10 minutes to get on the score-sheet. After getting the ball outside the SAI penalty box, she switched to her right foot, and drove the ball home.

It took Bala just 5 minutes to add the second goal of the match, before she completed her hat-trick on the 41st minute. The Manipuri striker added a fourth just before the half-time break, to make it 5-0.

The second half went much in the same way as the first, as Manipur Police dominated possession and continued their intent to score goals. Bala went on to add three more goals to her name in the second half, while the likes of Rinaroy Devi and Daya Devi added two more to make the score 10-0 in Manipur Police’s favour.

With this, Bala Devi has scored an unprecedented seven goals in the match, something that puts her well in the driver’s seat for the highest scorers’ award, in the nascent stages of the 2018-19 Hero Indian Women’s League.

LUDHIANA: Gokulam Kerala FC were triumphant once again, as they beat a resilient FC Alakhpura side 1-0 via a goal from their teenage sensation Manisha, at the Guru Nanak Stadium, here, on Monday, May 7.

Gokulam, who had shown their strength by beating defending champions Rising Student Club 5-0 in their last game on Sunday, started off at good pace. However, Alakhpura came out with a concrete plan to thwart the side from Kerala and pounce on the counter attacks.


Their plan worked perfectly, as they kept Gokulam at bay for long periods. It was only second half that Gokulam got a real chance. Manisha broke through on goal, and Alakhpura keeper Neelam to beat in front of her. However, she tried to dink the keeper on the half volley, and the ball sailed over the bar.


Manisha finally made her mark in the game, when she nodded a powerful header into the Alakhpura net 71st minute off a cross from the right flank. This being her fourth goal of the tournament, propelled her back to the top of the scorers’ charts, where she is tied with Sethu FC’s Nepali striker Sabitra Bhandari.

 Alakhpura had their best chance towards the end of the game, when Jyoti beat the offside trap, broke free from the Gokulam defence and only had keeper Linthoi to beat. However, the India International swiftly slid in and blocked the shot from close range.

HANS WOMEN FC RALLY TO BEAT PANJIM FOOTBALLERS

Over at the GHG Khalsa University Ground in Ludhiana, Hans Women FC fought hard in an exciting 3-2 win over Panjim Footballers, courtesy a brace from striker Anushka Samuel. Hans had got off to a good start with Uchenna Rita Casia Ukachukwu’s early effort going wide of the post.

Anushka put the Delhi side in front right after the half-hour mark, but Panjim forward Karishma Shirvoikar soon equalised as she finished off a brilliant pass from Jeromina Colaco. Anushka scored yet another goal in the second half, but that too was equalised via a penalty by Karishma.

In the end, it was Jyoti Ann Burrett, who scored the winning goal in the 80th minute, to hand Hans Women FC the three points.

LUDHIANA: FC Kolhapur City came back from two goals down to beat Baroda Football Academy in an absolute thriller of a Western Derby that ended with the former winning 4-3 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Monday, May 6, 2019.

Kolhapur forward Kashmina was the star of the show, as she scored two goals on either side of the half-time break. These goals were crucial as they came at a time when Kolhapur were 0-2 down against Baroda.

It was Kolhapur, who started off with a higher tempo, but Baroda got the break against the run of play.

Baroda, who relied more on the counter, hooved it up field, and the inability of the Kolhapur defence to deal with the aerial ball led to the first goal. The ball bounced inside the Kolhapur area, and defender Ayomide Awawu Anibaba looped her header over the keeper and into the net for an own goal.

What looked like a setback, soon turned into a nightmare for Kolhapur, as Baroda left winger Mona soared into the Kolhapur box, cut inside and fired it home.

However, Kashima gave Kolhapur some home just before the half-time whistle, as she took full advantage of a fumble by Baroda keeper Pinky Darji, to score into an empty net.

Kolhapur came out all guns blazing in the second half, and it was Kashima again, who scored to put the side from Maharashtra on level terms. She was played into the box, as she made an angled run from the right and slipped it past the Darji to score.

The match came to a frantic end, as Kolhapur and Baroda substitutes, Pratiksha and Heta Shukla scored for their respective sides in the space of two minutes, before Kamala Devi finally made it 4-3 for the Maharashtra side on the third minute of injury time.

LUDHIANA: Sethu FC outclassed Manipur Police in a thrilling encounter that saw two hat-tricks and 10 goals. The team from Madurai eventually fashioned a massive 6-4 victory over their Manipuri opponents at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, on Monday, May 6, 2019.

Sabitra Bhandari was the star of the show as she netted four first-half goals to power Sethu FC to the win. Her counterpart Bala Devi was also on song, scoring two goals, but her efforts went in vain.

Sabitra, who has been a menace for Nepal on the international front, continued her exploits for Sethu right from the kick-off, as she finished off a move on the 29th second. This was the fastest goal of the Hero Indian Women’s League this season.

 The Nepal striker struck again a quarter of an hour later, before an own goal by Sethu keeper Sowmiya pulled one back for Manipur Police. However, Bhandari earned her hat-trick on the 34th minute itself, Grace fed her a ball from the right and she slipped it past the Manipur keeper Panthoi Chanu.

Bala Devi shipped one over Sethu keeper Sowmiya’s head to make it 2-3, but Sabitra scored her fourth with just seconds left on for the half-time whistle.

After the change of ends, Pramodini Chanu and Dangmei Grace scored in quick succession post the hour mark, to bring the score 5-3 in Sethu’s favour. Bhandari broke away with a quarter of an hour left, and unselfishly squared it to Grace, who tapped it into an empty to put the match beyond any doubts.

Bala Devi did score her second goal of the match in injury time of the second half, but it was too little, too late for Manipur Police.

IMPHAL, May 3 : AMMA earned a 3-2 win against PLL, Churachandpur in a high scoring league match of the 1st Sub-Junior Girls Inter Club Football Tournament being organised by All Manipur Football Association at Mapal Kangjeibung today. YWC-Langthabal also beat WFA, Kakching  by 2-1 goals in another match of the tournament staged today.

The first match of the day witnessed AMMA enjoy most of the possession and scoring chances against PLL which made a late return to the game but failed to draw level during the given time.
PLL took off the game positively with Esther Tinjoukim netting the first goal in the 5th minute but the lead was cancelled by S Anjulika of AMMA in the 19th minute to make it 1-1 till the break.
AMMA which were relentless in their attempt got the lead in the 48th minute through Ch Anjali while Ph Abema extended the lead to 3
-1 at the stroke of the hour mark.

Sarah of PLL pulled back a goal in the 67th minute of the match but their comeback effort failed to yield result rendering AMMA sealed all three points.

Meanwhile in the second match of the day, first half goals from Thoibisana and Remi gave YWC, Langthabal a 2-1 edge over WFA, Kakching.

Thoibisana put her team ahead early in the 5th minute with a rasping shot only to be equalised by Ambika of WFA 8 minutes latter. The parity however could not last long as Remi came up with a fine goal to help YWC regain the lead in the 28th minute of the match.
The scoreline remained unchanged till the final whistle despite frenetic attempts in the latter part of the game.

Eventually YWC sealed all three points.

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is conducting three Grassroots Leader Courses in Imphal, Manipur organised by Tata Trusts in collaboration with Department of Youth Affairs and Sports (YAS), Govt. of Manipur. The project will conclude with the AFC Grassroots Day celebrations on May 15th.

The courses are slated to be conducted as per the following schedule which will see a total of 60 coaches and 300 players being guided by 6 AIFF Grassroots Instructors:

1st Course - 2nd to 5th May, 2019

2nd Course - 7th to 10th May, 2019

3rd Course - 12th to 15th May, 2019

 "I would like to thank Tata Trusts for taking this initiative for Grassroots Development in Manipur. The initiative will enhance the growth of Grassroots football in the region,” said Mr. Kushal Das, AIFF General Secretary.

 “Earlier, we had undertaken significant steps in association with Tata Trusts in Meghalaya for development of the Baby Leagues,” Mr. Das informed.

The AIFF aims to increase playing opportunities for young players between 6 and 12 years of age for the long-term development of the sport and so as to create a strong base at the Grassroots level.

"It's important to educate Coaches on why Grassroots development is essential as a whole in the game. The initiative will help us to streamline and have systematic approach in the existing initiatives," said Anju Turambekar, Head of Grassroots and Instructors, AIFF, who will also oversee the entire implementation process in Manipur. 

Mr. Rajesh Siwakoti, Senior Executive, Tata Trusts is managing the organisation of all courses.

NEW DELHI: It’s that time of the year again! The Hero Indian Women’s League is back and the top female players of the country and from abroad are raring to go as the tournament is set to kick-off at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab on Sunday, May 5.

Defending champions Rising Student’s Club kick-start the 2018-19 Hero IWL edition as they face-off against Gokulam Kerala FC on Sunday.

As many as 12 teams, who are divided into two groups of six each, are set to participate in the tournament. Group I consists of Rising Student’s Club, Gokulam, FC Alakhpura, Hans Women Football Club, Central SSB Women Football Club and Panjim Footballers. Meanwhile, Group II consists of Manipur Police, Sethu FC Bangalore United FC, SAI-STC Cuttack, FC Kolhapur City, and Baroda Football Academy.

“Women's football in our country is going through an exciting phase. We have seen the Indian Women's Team produce some great results at the International front,” said All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das.

 “We are sure to see the rise of more talented players in the third season of the Hero Indian Women's League. I would like to thank the Punjab Football Association for their support in hosting the IWL, and wish the participating clubs all the best for the tournament in Ludhiana,” he further said.

HERO INDIAN WOMEN’S LEAGUE GROUPS

GROUP I

Rising Student’s Club
Gokulam Kerala FC
FC Alakhpura
Hans Women’s FC
Central SSB Women’s Football Team
Panjim Footballers
GROUP II
Manipur Police SC
Sethu FC
Bangalore United FC
SAI-STC Cuttack
FC Kolhapur City
Baroda Football Academy

NEW DELHI: A selection committee meeting was held in Kohlapur immediately after the conclusion of the Hero Junior Girls National Football Championship 2019-20 to analyse the performances of scouted probables from the tournament.

The committee also took into consideration the scouted players from various state trials, and drew up a preliminary list of 35 probables, all of whom have been summoned for a preliminary coaching camp for India’s FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup India 2020 campaign.

The probables will be reporting to Goa from Thursday (May 2, 2019), under former India International Alex Ambrose, as the Coach. Amrbose, was earlier in charge as Head Coach of India U-19 National Team last year.

The list of the 35 probables stay as follows:

 GOALKEEPERS: Tanu, Thoudam Devi, Adrija Sarkhel, Manisha, Manju Ganju.

DEFENDERS: Purnima Kumari, Phanjoubam Devi, Sudha Tirkey, Antrika, Kritina Devi, Nisha, Daisy Crasto, Naketa, Kamna, Vaishnavi Chandrakant.

MIDFIELDERS: Martina, Aveka Singh, Priyanka Devi, Astam Orain, Anju, Poonam, Salomi Minj, Drishti Pant, Manisha, Priyanka Sujeesh.

FORWARDS: Kiran, Amisha Baxla, Mariyammal, Sumati Kumari, Manisha Naik, Lynda Kom, Shilky Devi, Sai Sanke, Lalnun Siami, Karen Estrocio.

RESERVE PLAYERS:
GOALKEEPERS: Anjali Barke, Anshika.

DEFENDERS: Gia Sundaram, Lhingneilam Kipgen, Saraswati Kri, Shilpaben Thakur, Ritu, Fulmani Oran.

MIDFIELDERS: Ishita Mathew, Gladys Zonunsangi.

 FORWARDS: Sanika Patil, Malavika P, Santoshi Kumari.

HEAD COACH: Alex Ambrose.

NEW DELHI: India suffered their second defeat of the 2019 MU-15 Tournament at the hands of Mexico by a 1-3 margin on Monday, April 29, in Palmanova, Italy.

This was India’s second defeat in as many games, after they lost 0-3 against Mexico’s neighbours USA on Sunday.

Jesus Hernandes Moreno opened the scoring for Mexico early on, before Carlos Eduardo Guillen added another.

Aula Siba came inches close to pull one back for India, when he got an opportunity to tap it in from inside the six-yard-box. However, he sent his shot agonisingly wide. Eventually, Sridarth won and converted a penalty towards the end of the first half of this 70-minute match to give Coach Bibiano Fernandes’ team a fighting chance.

However, Moreno scored again, just after the changeover, to secure the three points for the Mexicans.

It was a second half to forget for the Indians who knocked hard on the Mexicans’ door but to no avail. Ashu, Amosa Lalnundanga and Ratanbi Singh combined well to create a few chances, but it was too little, too late, as Mexico ran away with the win in the end.

India are now set to face-off against Slovenia on Tuesday, in their last Group Stage game of the MU-15 Tournament.

India Starting XI: Ayush Deshwal (GK), Rajan Soren, Abdul Hannan, Halen Singh, Ashu, Amosa Lalnundanga, Eric Lalsangzuala, Maheson Singh, Ratanbi Singh, Aula Siba, Sridarth.

IMPHAL, April 28 : Goals galore as NEROCA FC notched up an emphatic 13-1 win against FC Imphal City in their last match at the ongoing Hero Junior (U-15) League Imphal Zone organised under the supervision of All India Football Federation at Football Turf Ground, Khuman Lampak. The last crucial match played between BMSC and TRAU was however put on hold after an unexpected storm followed by rain played spoilsport.

Giftson Kamei did the star turn today for the NEROCA FC as he scored a record 6 goals alone, 4 in the first half and two in the second half. Lairenjam Sushil also scored twice in this 13 goal barrage.
NEROCA FC led the first half 8-0 with Giftson Kamei opening up the floodgate in the 19th minute before striking three more goals (33′, 45’+1′, 45’+2′).

Lairenjam Sushil struck the second goal for the team in the 28th minute before striking his second in the 45th minute of the match while Lawrence Thangchinlen Manlun who substituted Khuraijam Sinthoiba in the 29th minute struck the fourth goal in the 39th minute of the match. The other goal of the first half came from the feet of Thokchom Bablu in the second minute of the additional time (45’+2′) of the first half.

NEROCA FC continued to pile up more pressure on FC Imphal City despite the huge lead and it was Ipham Imtiyas Khan who opened up the second half scoring in the 48th minute before Giftson had his 5th goal in the 69th minute to make it 10-0.

Yumkhaibam Amit then extended the lead to 11-0 when he converted a penalty kick in the 86th minute. FC Imphal City’s condition went from bad to worst as they were reduced to 10-man after Malemnganba Hawaibam saw a straight red.

Janggouhao Khongsai who came in place of Ronaldo Ngashpam then struck the 12th goal in the first minute of the stoppage time before Giftson Kamei had his final say in two minutes latter.
FC Imphal City had the face saving goal through Leitanthem Robinson during the stoppage time (90’+2′).

Meanwhile the match that will decide the fate of the zonal league was put on hold with ten minutes left to play after a sudden storm followed by rain interrupted the proceedings and the remaining portion of the game will be played tomorrow at 2 pm.

BMSC, Taobungkhok were leading 3-2 before the game was put on hold.

BMSC need to win the game by difference of three or more goals in order to top the table. Otherwise NEROCA FC will cruise into the final round of the competition on the back of today’s huge win.

KOLHAPUR: The Oxford dictionary defines the word momentum as 'the ability to keep increasing or developing' and in order for anything to grow or improve, it is of paramount importance to generate a good swing of momentum and capitalize on it.

Women's football in India has seen a recent upsurge in the last few months thanks to the performances of the women's senior national team under coach Maymol Rocky and with the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be held in India next year, Maymol feels that hosting and playing in the biennial contest is the perfect step to build upon the impetus generated so far.

"It's an opportunity to play at the highest level for the young players and being a part of it all will be an experience they will enjoy and remember forever. I have always been one to place my faith in the abilities of youngsters and this tournament will be vital in rearing the next generation," she exclaimed.

The tactician talked about how the World Cup will "bring the entire nation together", saying, "We have seen what happened in 2017 during the U-17 World Cup. The whole country will come together for football and young children and parents will be motivated to get more involved in the sport."

She added: "We have a good amount of time to plan and the players have the potential to shine. We need to give the coach time and believe in the team. I believe we can put together a strong team and I am excited to watch them play soon – as everyone else will be too!"

Maymol has vast amount of experience when it comes to coaching age group teams. Since 2012, she has led the India U-15 and U-16 teams before taking up the senior team position. Currently in Kolhapur for the Hero Junior Girls' NFC, she is among multiple scouts responsible for identifying potential talents for the upcoming World Cup and has been impressed by what she has seen so far.

She said, "I have been with age-group national teams for a number of years and I can say that these girls (at the Junior Girls' NFC) are better. The current generation has improved a lot – for example, many players have shown that they are apt at using both feet. The coach will have a lot to work upon but there have certainly been a lot of positive signs."

Under Maymol's leadership, the Indian team lifted the SAFF Women's Championship title for the fifth consecutive time and almost upset Myanmar to reach the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers Round 3 – all this with a squad with an average of 21.4. Reflecting on the team's performance, the coach admitted that the challenge was a difficult one but declared that the players left no stone unturned.

"I found it difficult when the team first got together in December but we worked extremely hard to get on track. To their credit, the girls were open and disciplined, and never gave any problems off the field. On the field – we got the team together, stronger, fitter and more confident. The players slowly started believing in themselves and in the end, we stuck to our guns and played our hearts out," she expressed.

IMPHAL, April 27: Biaklian Paite netted a double to steer NEROCA to a 2-1 win over SSU in their semifinal encounter in the 11th Loktak Trophy at Moirang Multi-Purpose Ground on Saturday.

With the result, NEROCA are now only one win away from claiming record three titles this month.

The 61st CC Meet and the 12th Manipur State League champions didn’t have it easy in the first half that saw NEROCA fall behind before they turned things around after the break, thanks to Biaklian.

In the first few minutes, both the teams were unable to create clear-cut chances and the back-and-forth exchanges failed to yield results for the entire 45 minutes until SSU finally broke the deadlock just before the halftime whistle and went into the second half with a 1-0 advantage.

Just when it appeared the teams were heading for a barren first period, N Sanju worked his way through to send the ball into NEROCA’s net, sparking a loud celebration from the SSU supporters.
In the second half, NEROCA were in action mode right off, picked up the
pace and were dominant up front with waves of attacks that paid off.

Biaklian put his team on equal terms in the 69th minute and then he struck in his second goal in a span of 10 minutes that eventually proved to the winner.
NEROCA will be up against Sangolband United (SU) in the final on April 30.

Chaoba Devi

KOLHAPUR: Having guided the Indian Women’s Senior Team to an unprecedented Round 2 of the AFC Olympic Qualifiers earlier this year, assistant coach Chaoba Devi Langam has now turned her attention to the next big thing happening for women’s football in the country.

With India set to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup next year, the top women’s football coaches from across the country are busy scouting for the stars of tomorrow at the Hero Junior Girls' National Football Championship 2019-20 in Kohlapur.

“The U-17 World Cup will be huge for women’s football in the country. We are scouting for players in the Junior Women’s National Football Championship here, and we are hopeful that by the time they play the World Cup, they will reach a level where they can compete against the top teams from across the world,” said Chaoba.

Chaoba believes that the young girls currently fighting it out for their respective states will need to be made ready for the U-17 Women’s World Cup. However, once they are brought at par with teams at that level, they will already have enough experience of playing at the top level, even before they have set foot in senior football.

“And once the girls that will play in the U-17 World Cup come through to the senior level, they will automatically have a certain level of experience of playing at the top level, which will obviously be beneficial for our country in the long run,” she said.

The Indian national team Assistant Coach even went on to compare some of the talent on display with unpolished diamonds. “We have seen some girls who look like they have the quality and it’s our job to spot them and then train them for the top level. When you find diamond or gold in their natural form, they are not as shiny.”

Chaoba continued: “But you need to chisel and polish them before they shine. It is exactly the same with these talented girls.”


Over the last two years, the Indian Women’s National Team has created history under the mentorship of head coach Maymol Rocky and her aide Chaoba, when they qualified from their group in the first round of the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers for the first time.

To everyone’s surprise, the team went on to put up a great fight at the next stage too, an arena where the young outfit were playing for the first time.

Chaoba, who is also the only female coach from the North-east to have an AFC A License coaching badge, believes that the coaching staff’s approach of identifying the talented young players from an early stage and giving them enough preparation ahead of the Qualifiers helped them perform so well.

“We are very lucky that the AIFF and the government are providing the facilities for women’s football to grow. We have tried to lay more emphasis on the youngsters so that we can work on them and improve their performance over the course of time,” she said.

In Round 2 of the Olympic Qualifiers, the Indian team beat Indonesia and Nepal, before giving the higher-ranked home side Myanmar a real run for their money on the final matchday. The latter made it through due to goal difference, but the India girls had shown their mettle.

“The girls really responded well during the Olympic Qualifiers Round 2, where we only fell short on goal difference. Special credit goes to the players as they gave their 100 per cent and sacrificed a lot to get where they are now,” said Chaoba.

IMPHAL, April 26 : Sagolband United (SU) reached the final of the 11th Loktak Trophy 2019 beating NISA 4-2 today in the first semi-final of the tournament organised by All Moirang Football Association under the sponsorship of Loktak Power Station at Moirang Multipurpose Ground.

Goals by Dangmei Gaipuilan, Bright Middleton and W Angousana helped SU seal a comfortable 4-2 win against NISA Thangmeiband after the latter team took an early 1-0 lead.

NISA broke the deadlock early in the 9th minute through Roger but Dangmei Gaipuilan pulled level in the 21st minute before star of the day Bright Middleton clinched the lead during the additional time of the first half.

The SU onslaught continued after the break and Bright Middleton rose again for his second goal in the 54th minute to help his team take a 2 goal lead. NISA which were struggling under SU attack for a better portion of the game came out of the misery as Rojen pulled back a goal in the 70th minute but could not make the most of the ball in the latter part hindering them from levelling the score. SU which did well to deny NISA revival sprang up again in the last few minutes of the game and it was W Angousana who rounded off the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time (80+4) to finish the game 4-2.

NEW DELHI: Keeping an eye on the preparation of the AFC U-16 Qualifiers slated to be held later this year, the Indian U-15 boys National Team departed for Italy for an exposure tour where they will be playing against the likes of USA, Mexico, and Slovenia in the MU-15 Championship.

Boys born on or after January 1, 2004 are a part of the group, and are being coached by Bibiano Fernandes, who had guided the U-15 colts to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-16 Championship in Malaysia 2018. They were a match away from a direct qualification into the FIFA U-17 World Cup, but eventually went down to Korea Republic by a solitary goal.

“We had good success with the previous batch, and are looking to build a similar setup this time too,” Bibiano said. “USA, Mexico, and Slovenia are big teams. It will be good for the boys to play against such developed sides. We conducted trials throughout the country and scouted boys from different parts like Kohlapur, Goa, Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur,” he added.

The coach believes that although his team is shaping up well, the boys still need to work on their basics.

“We still have to work on the basics on a few areas. But the boys are learning quickly,” said Bibiano. “From having the previous team to building a new one, it's been quite a learning curve for me as a coach as well.”

Bibiano mentioned that with the previous batch having practiced alongside each other for a long time, it facilitating building formidable a team chemistry.

“The previous team was together for quite some time, so they were already ready. Right now, we are still looking for some positions,” Bibiano informed. “We have called up more boys who will be joining us after this tournament.”

Six boys from last season’s U-16 team including Rohit Danu, Vikram Partap Singh, Gurkirat Singh were part of Indian Arrows’ Hero I-League campaign in the 2018-19 season. Danu went on to score 4 goals, becoming the youngest-ever goal-scorer in I-League history, while Vikram netted one.

The schedule of India U-15 National Team in the MU15 Tournament is as follows:
April 28: USA v India.
April 29: Mexico v India.
April 30: Slovenia v India.