KOCHI: One of the new recruits to the Gokulam FC women’s team, Reshma C is making the most out of the lockdown period by staying physically fit. The player who hails from Vadakkencherry village in Palghat, is one the few Malayali players in Gokulam FC’s women team which had recently won the Indian Women’s League (IWL).Since the lockdown, Reshma has been practising her routine strengthening exercises under the guidance of her coach Priya V, while working on her football skills during outdoor practise sessions with her brother.
“I make it a point to practise with football for at least one hour daily. Passing, heading and shooting are some of the skills that I want to develop further,” says the 22-year-old. Although Reshma has featured for Gokulam only in the preliminary rounds of IWL, sharing the winning stage with her team is a memory she cherishes most in her career till now. “I was very happy since it was for the first time that Gokulam had won the tournament which was a big boost for everyone,” says Reshma .
“Our team has a perfect mix of Europeans and experienced national players which has been very beneficial to me as I get to learn a lot of new things from them. The team spirit and the coaching sessions have also been good,” she said. Other than playing for Gokulam, Reshma also has plenty of experience playing for the Kerala women’s team and the Calicut University team. “I was part of the Calicut team which was the runner’s up at the South Zone Inter-University Football Championship held in Bengaluru recently. The university team had secured that position after a gap of many years,” Reshma adds.
As the daughter of a daily wage labourer, Reshma considers herself fortunate since she didn’t face any major financial struggles in the course of realising her dream. Currently pursuing her postgraduate degree at St Joseph’s college, Irinjalakuda, Reshma’s immediate focus is to perform well in order to break into the starting eleven of the Gokulam team. “I also want to play for the Indian team one day and secure a job too,” Reshma says. She gives credit to Gokulam FC women’s coach Priya V and her parents for supporting her.