New Delhi, December 11, 2008 : .Manisha Kalyan, Indian woman’s soccer player has stated that she doesn’t feel pressure to play against large teams after playing against a lot of high-quality opponents over the past few years.
In the past few years, India’s women’s football team have played higher-ranked opponents like Turkey, Uzbekistan UAE Bahrain, Sweden and Bahrain.They gained confidence from these teams and are now better equipped to face them.
“We gained a lot of experience against the higher-ranked teams and we got to learn so much from them,” said Manisha who registered her name in the record books by scoring India’s first-ever goal against Brazil at the senior level in November.
“We used to be nervous facing tough opponents, but after having faced such big teams, we don’t feel that pressure anymore.We don’t fear any team and just want to play good football against them and give them tough competition,” she added.
After scoring against Brazil, the 20-year-old, who has always been a fan since childhood, feels a lot more confident.
“I used to follow some of the Brazilian players like Ronaldinho since I was a kid so playing against Brazil gave me an immense boost.It was a great opportunity for everyone, and especially for me as I went and scored for my team,” she said.
“I feel I have gained a lot of confidence after scoring that goal and feel that I can score more goals in the future,” she added.
Manisha, a resident of Mugowal in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur District of Punjab received warmly over the telephone from family members and friends across the world after her remarkable feat.
“My family and friends were happy and proud that I scored that goal.It is such a great feeling to have when your parents are proud of you.There were so many calls and messages I had received that day which I will be forever grateful,” the attacker said.
“Firstly, playing against Brazil was such a huge thing, so was scoring.But that does not change out main aim, which is to do well in the AFC Asian Cup.All of that was done so that we could prepare better for the tournament, and we want to do well in Asia,” she concluded.
avn/bsk
#Manisha #Indian #womans #football #doesnt #pressure #Delhi #Delhi #New Delhi #Kalyan #Punjab #Hoshiarpur #Turkey
.
