Sruti Chakraborty
AIFF Media Team

KATHMANDU: When she pulled on an Indian shirt for the first time in the pre-Olympics in Dhaka against Bangladesh in March 2011, few would have imagined that Ashalata Devi would take Indian women’s football by storm in quite the way she has.

The star defender has come a long way since then. On Thursday, October 17, 2024, Ashalata will clock up a century of international caps when she takes the pitch in the SAFF Championship 2024 group league opener against traditional rivals Pakistan at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, as the Indian National Senior Women's team arrived in the Nepal capital, Ashalata spoke of the two different emotions that have been playing in her mind.

“I am excited and happy that I will play my 100th game against Pakistan. The focus, however, will be on winning all the games and taking the trophy back home. This is the main dream and motive for coming to Nepal,” Ashalata told www.the-aiff.com. 

“I am looking forward to all the matches in the championship because it is an extremely important tournament to us. We already suffered a setback in the last SAFF, but it will be different this time,” said a determined Ashalata.

She wasn’t far from the truth. In the 2022 edition, India, then considered the unconquered queen of SAFF, failed to defend the title. Although the last championship results didn't go in India’s favour, Ashalata and her team remained resolute, knowing they would come back stronger.

“This is the sixth time I will play in SAFF. We were champions four times. I want to win this year’s title for us because it’s a special championship for me. We are determined to prove ourselves,” she said. 

On arrival, Head Coach Santosh Kashyap said, “It’s always a great pleasure and honour to be here in Nepal. I came twice as a player and enjoyed every moment. We are well prepared this time for the championship and will try to play entertaining and attacking football.”

Coach Kashyap is aware of the team's disappointment in the last edition but is confident of a good performance in the upcoming matches. 

“The last edition was a bit disappointing, and I think you cannot always be the champions. So it's a part of the game. Sometimes setbacks happen and it happened last time. Every team is improving and trying to do their best. And that's all about competition. So we are well prepared this time and hope it will be a good show.  

“I enjoy playing attacking football, and the team have adapted well during the last three weeks of the preparatory camp. The tournament will be highly competitive, as all the teams are performing admirably. I expect the matches to be interesting and competitive, something that everyone can enjoy.

The main thing is to win the championship,” said the head coach.

India are in Group A with Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Nepal are in Group B with Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan. The team just arrived in Nepal after a three-week camp in Goa.