Guwahati: Promising Assam forward Apurna Narzary, who impressively led the Indian team in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 1 in Vietnam, has been rewarded with a call-up to the senior national women’s team for the friendly matches in Jordan and Uzbekistan.
Apurna, who hails from the remote village of Khagrabari in Kokrajhar district under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) fired three goals in three outings in the Vietnam event, thus paving her way to the Blue Tigresses’ dressing room.
“This is the moment I was waiting for….getting back into the national side is a dream come true moment for me. Having said that, the responsibilities also get bigger once you are representing your country at the highest level,” the 19-year-old told EastMojo in an interaction.
The Indian women’s team head coach Thomas Dennerby named a 23-member squad for the games.
“Congratulations to Apurna Narzary, women’s football player of STC, Kokrajhar for being selected in the senior Indian women’s football team to participate in the international friendly match against Jordan and Uzbekistan,” a tweet from SAI read.
The teenage sensation has witnessed a rapid rise in her career graph over the past three-four years and has represented India at the under-18 level in the SAFF women’s championship.
Born to a footballer father Biswajit Narzary, who played at the district level, it was only a matter of time before Apurna sizzled in the sport that she embraced in 2017. She started her journey at the STC Kokrajhar and went on to feature at the Subroto Cup and in Reliance tournaments in Mumbai.
Impressed by her on-field smartness and her prolific goal-scoring abilities, she was soon spotted by the coaches as the one for the future and drafted her into the Indian Women’s League, where she captained the Indian Arrows side, and led from the front with six goals from seven outings that included a hat-trick against Odisha Police.
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help sustain honest journalism.
Now as she embarks on a fresh challenge, Apurna remembers her father’s words, “Don’t get carried away,” and vows to stay grounded while trying to perform her duties in national colours.
The Indian team will be playing these matches as part of their preparation for Round 1 of the AFC women’s Olympic Qualifiers. India, placed in Group G, will take on hosts Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan in a round-robin format from April 4-10.
Also Read | Making efforts to have a NE team in Ultimate Kho Kho: Mittal
