CHENNAI: A fortnight ago, at the Khelo India Youth Games, the Tamil Nadu women’s U-18 football team rewrote history. They defeated Jharkhand, a team which had given them one of the biggest defeats in their first match — 2-0 in the final.
For coach Gokila S, who has been with the team since 2008, this victory will remain special for various reasons. For starters, after finishing as runners-up in 2019, they had to wait for three years due to the pandemic to get here. Then they had merely a ten-day camp to prepare for the tournament. “I’m very happy. After a long wait, Tamil Nadu is finally the winner. I am also happy because of the way we won,” she said.
It goes back to their opening game against Jharkhand where they faced a 0-6 defeat. After the loss, the team was “mentally dispirited”. But Gokila made some tactical tweaks for their next pool match against Manipur, which they won 4-0. They progressed to the semi-finals, where they were up against hosts and favourites Haryana.
Recalling how many people didn’t give them a chance, she said, “Some told me straight to my face that the team wouldn’t win, but I made sure that it did not reach the players’ ears.” For a score of 2-0 down at half-time, it looked like their journey to the final was over. The players were deflated, again, searching for a way to just end the game in pride. Gokila rose to the occasion to instil confidence. She told the players, “If they can score two (goals) in five minutes, you can also do the same.” Her words were put to action as Tamil Nadu was back in the game at 2-2. A moment of clutch and anxiousness came at the 90th minute as the scoreboard changed to 3-2.
They were poised to play Jharkhand in the finals, looking to avenge their humiliation in the first match. Confidence was high in the Jharkhand camp, but on the field the story was different. Captain P Dhanalakshmi called the first game a reality check for the team and that the coaches had a bigger role in the revival since. “That scoreline of 6-0 put us down and we felt we wouldn’t progress any further. As the captain, I had little hope; the coaches felt we had a chance and that is why we went all the way to the finals and won,” she said.
However, she felt that the team deserved a better welcome in Chennai. “At least a flex banner would’ve done; we don’t ask for celebratory functions as the other winning teams,” she said.