Bala Devi expects a call from Rangers FC

12/03/2019

Indian Women's star striker Bala Devi has shared her experience of the week-long trails with Scottish giants Rangers FC and revealed her optimism in getting a callup. The striker, who is currently with the Indian national team for the South Asian Games, is confident of defending the football title.

Indian Women's football face Ngangom Bala Devi is back after her week-long trails with Scottish giants Rangers FC and shared her experience of the trails. The goal-scoring machine, who plays for Manipur Police in the Indian Women's League, is also hoping to get a call from them soon.

“I got five days to practise with them and also had the opportunity to play a practice match with them. It was a bit difficult to train in sub-zero conditions but getting to see first hand and experiencing their training regime was an amazing experience,” Bala told in an interview, TOI reported.

“The coach and the staff were amazing and they appreciated my game and style of play. Their technique was similar to us but the tactics was a bit different as their fitness is better than ours. They are definitely better than us but their game isn’t that different from ours,” added the India striker.

The Manipur born footballer was in full praise of Indian women's football which has tremendously grown in the past few years. The National Women's team has played in many friendlies this year and has performed well in the COTIF Cup and are the defending champions in the SAFF Championship. The Indian Women's narrowly lost in Round 2 of the Olympic Qualifiers.

“A lot has changed now for the better. Earlier, we got very few exposure trips and that’s not the case anymore. Now, because of our higher rankings, even European teams are eager to find out more about us and how we play,” Bala said.

Bala Devi has now joined with the National Women's squad in Kathmandu for the South Asian Games. India won the title in 2010 and 2016, the two times that women’s football was part of the competition. Moreover, Bala Devi is confident of defending the title.

“All the players have attained a particular level, thanks to the exposure trips and national camps. So I am very confident that we will not face much difficulty in defending our title this time,” said the 29-year-old.

Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are the team's India to face in the first round of the games. The final will be on December 9 in Kathmandu.