Telangana footballer Soumya signs with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb

Indian women’s footballer from Telangana Soumya Guguloth has signed a one-year deal with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.

Hyderabad: In another first, Indian women’s footballer from Telangana Soumya Guguloth has signed a one-year deal with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, on Thursday. The Nizamabad girl, who earlier had become the first from the both Telugu speaking States to represent the country, and her fellow player form Gokulam Kerala FC Jyoti Chouhan have inked the deal after being selected in trials, conducted in Kolkata.

Speaking from Pune, where she is undergoing rigorous training for the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) tournament, Soumya said that it is a big boost for her career. “I am feeling great to be playing for the Croatian club. This will be a big boost. I will get to train with the best in Europe and it will only enhance my game,” she said.

---

“We are now at a stage where our game is on par with many countries. Now, we will get to interact with top players and coaches which will provide us with a great experience. The league will be held for 10 months and will be very helpful,” she added.

The 21-year-old Telangana player, however, said her focus right now is on doing well with the Indian team that will take part in the South Asian Football Federation starting from September 2 in Nepal. “I want to do well for India in the SAFF tournament and then will leave for Croatia,” she revealed.

Meanwhile, Soumya’s coach G Nagaraju said it is a big achievement for his ward. “We have struggled for six months ahead of the trials that were held in Kolkata. We didn’t have facilities in Nizamabad to train. We moved to Mumbai for two weeks, trained for a week in Hyderabad and Kolkata for these trials for four weeks. We also had financial strains to get the gym equipment.

But luckily, GP Palguna (TFA Secretary) and a few others helped us get the equipment to work on her fitness. She worked extremely hard and now we feel great to achieve the target. This will be a boost to her career,” he added.

Incidentally, these two Indian players are the first overseas recruitments for the club Dinamo Zagreb. Soumya is among 12 players who took part in the recently-held Women In Sports trials in Kolkata. The players were coached, assessed and trained by coaches from five international clubs – Rangers WFC, Marbella FC, ZNK Dinamo Zagreb, Western Sydney Wanderers FC and Melbourne Victory FC.