By Deepika Sarma
Yaaaaaay! We won the 2016 South Asian Games last evening (February 15), in a thumping football victory that we’d like to watch again and again in replay. India dominated the tournament, entering the finals after a 5-1 win against Bangladesh, and won 4-0 against Nepal amidst a wildly cheering crowd in Shillong, which saw record turnout for the women’s tournament.
Ace footballer Aditi Chauhan, back from the UK, came in with some great saves that meant Nepal didn’t score at all.
Twenty-three-year old Yumnam Kamala Devi was the star of the match, scoring her first goal early into the game and her second after half time, with several solid goal attempts all through. With twenty minutes to go, Ngangom Bala Devi scored India’s third goal, and with ten minutes to go, Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, who led India’s defense, scored the final goal of the match.
(In other happy news, the men’s team came second in the men’s championship.)
Luckily for the world, Oinam Bembem Devi decided to extend her career by a month after announcing that the National Football tournament that ended in January would be the last time she played. She got a heartfelt send-off from fellow players and fans, and contributed to the win she so deserved as a finale to her sparkling career. We’ll miss you, Bembem!
And here’s looking forward to another amazing victory this year at the South Asian Football Federation Cup Championship, which is being held in India this year. Indian leddies have won all three times it was held previously, so this year should be no sweat!
(Correction: An earlier version of this piece erroneously said that the men’s team won the men’s championship, instead of saying that they won second place.)