PATNA: A woman footballer of the East Central Railway (ECR) headquartered at Bihar’s Hajipur, L. Ashalata Devi, has become the pride of the entire Indian Railways after being declared ‘woman footballer of the Year 2018-19’ by the All India Footballer Federation (AIFF).
Devi, who hails from Manipur, is posted in the operating department of ECR at Hajipur.
General Manager of ECR LC Trivedi congratulating on her achievement, said Devi's extraordinary performances in football allows Indian Railways to walk with their head held high.
Speaking to this newspaper, Devi said: “I have been playing football since the age of 6 in Manipur. It allows me to be energised and the rapid and disciplined body movements gives me quick decision-making capacity. This sport makes the youth healthy and dedicated to society."
“India has no dearth of talent in football, at least from the women fraternity. But what lacks is opportunity. I think every girl should play it as it makes the person playing stronger by all means”, she said
Devi had represented Indian Railway’s first women football team formed in the ECR in many national and international tournaments.
"I have played in South and North Korea, Spain, Turkey, Bangladesh and many other countries and besides playing a number of national football tournaments", she said, adding that the AIFF declared her ‘the woman footballer of the year 2018-19’ on the basis of her brilliant performances.