Telangana’s Soumya wants to make the most of Brazil tour

Hyderabad: Telangana footballer from Nizamabad Guguloth Soumya, who earlier scripted history by becoming the first female footballer from the State to don India colours, is all excited about the Brazil tour and hopes to make the most of the tour ahead of next year’s AFC Asia Cup. The 19-year-old, along with the Indian team, left […]

Hyderabad: Telangana footballer from Nizamabad Guguloth Soumya, who earlier scripted history by becoming the first female footballer from the State to don India colours, is all excited about the Brazil tour and hopes to make the most of the tour ahead of next year’s AFC Asia Cup.

The 19-year-old, along with the Indian team, left for Brazil on Saturday to play three matches against hosts, Chile and Venezuela. Ahead of her departure, the Nizamabad girl said she wanted to gain as much experience as possible playing against teams on the tour. “I am very happy that I’ve been selected for the Brazil tour. The prospect of going there and playing is quite exciting, and we are all looking forward to it. We’ll be playing against some very tough opposition in Brazil. Of course, everyone is talking about Brazil, but we also have Chile and Venezuela, and both those games will be difficult. But it will be a good experience for us all, and playing these sides before the Asian Cup will do us a world of good, to get up to the required pace.”

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The team, under new coach Thomas Dennerby, is excited to showcase their skills, according to Soumya. “Everyone wants to put in good performances and return with victories in the bag. We will also be playing against some of our role models like Marta and Formiga, and many of our girls have been following their careers for a long time. It will be inspirational to play against them.

The Indian team, ranked 57 in the world, will be up against some of the big names in world football and their skills will be put to a big test. But how is the coach preparing them for the big matches? “First, the coach wants us to play a disciplined game. He told us to focus our concentration on scoring and protecting goals. He also told us to show the due respect to all the opponents, but not to be afraid of any of them.”

She admitted that playing against European teams is completely a different ball game and need to learn a lot. “I learned a lot from these matches. Training under a new coach, we have participated in new forms of training and practice sessions which I am really enjoying. We are learning new techniques, and I want to continue to improve.”

With India set to host the Asia Cup next year, Soumya is eager to improve her game. “AFC is my dream. We will work hard and look to give good performances in the AFC. It is happening in India, and we are really excited.”

The talented youngster made her debut against Serbia in February earlier this year but had suffered an injury that forced her out of the next two games. She returned to the national team in two months’ time and almost scored her first goal against Belarus.

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