Soumya Guguloth and Jyoti Chouhan join Croatian giants ZNK Dinamo Zagreb
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After a successful trial in Croatia, Indian women’s national team player Soumya Guguloth and her club teammate Jyoti Chouhan -- both of whom won the Indian Women’s League (IWL) last season with Gokulam Kerala FC – have now signed a year-long contract with Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb.
Soumya and Jyoti are now the first-ever international players for Dinamo Zagreb women’s football team. “I'm very excited to play out of the country, this is a great opportunity for me. I never expected to play for a club like Dinamo. This will be helpful for me and my family and my country. I hope to give my best during the season. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me”, says Soumya.
“This is a great opportunity for me, and I feel lucky that I got this platform. I will use this platform and give my 100% and will work hard to learn more and perform better when I am at Zagreb, Croatia , representing Dinamo,” said Jyoti as she prepares to join her Gokulam teammate for this season at Dinamo.
Dinamo Zagreb is the most successful club in Croatia having won 46 trophies. Their men’s team is in the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 group stage, alongside European powerhouses like Chelsea, AC Milan, and Salzburg.
ZNK Dinamo Zagreb, the women’s team, has similar ambitions and it hopes that these two girls from India can help them achieve their goals. “Step by step the puzzle was put together and in the seventh year of club’s existence (since becoming the women's team of Dinamo Zagreb), we took a step higher. I believe that the girls that are coming will justify the coach’s trust, “ said ZNK Dinamo club President, Josipa Maslać Petričević.
Head Coach Marija M. Damjanović said the players would boost the team. “I’m satisfied. We are signing players that are necessary for boosting our team.” Croatia is among the top performing countries in the world and made it to the FIFA World Cup final in 2018 where they lost against France.
Soumya and Jyoti were among the 12 players who took part in the recently-held Women In Sports Elite Trials held at Kolkata’s premier sporting club, Calcutta Cricket & Football Club. The camp was organized by Women In Sports in partnership with the Debanjan Sen Foundation & Football Players Association of India.
