LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, June 18: Five female footballers from Jharkhand have been selected for the India U-17 national team that will travel to Italy and Norway to participate in two tournaments to prepare for the Under-17 world cup.
The five players selected from Jharkhand are Sudha Ankita, Anita Kumari, Ashtam Oraon, Neetu Linda and Poornima Kumari. Ashtam, Poornima and Sudha are defenders whereas Neetu Linda is a midfielder and Anita plays from forward.
All of these five women footballers have been through hardships and poverty and have worked hard to reach the top.
Sudha Ankita is from Gumla. Her father has left the house and her mother is in debt. She started playing football so that she could pay her mother’s debt. Similarly, Kanke’s Anita Kumari is one of the five siblings. Her father is unemployed and her mother works as a labourer.
Gumla’s Ashtam Oraon’s parents are also labourers. She was sent to St. Columbus Collegiate School in Hazaribagh where she got an opportunity to play football. Similarly, Poornima Kumari from Simdega also has a similar story where both her parents are labourers.
Kanke’s Neetu Linda started playing football when she was in class four. Her mother passed away when she was nine years old. She has also worked as a labourer.