Captain of the Senior Indian Women's Football Team, Loitongbam Asalata Devi is all set to be named as the first Indian woman footballer to play 100 international matches. This milestone will be achieved during the SAFF Championship opening match against Pakistan in Kathmandu on 16 October 2024, Thursday. The 31-year-old Asalata played crucial roles in various tournaments securing victory for the team and nation over the years.
Captain Asalata is known for her defensive skills and leadership on the field started her career in 2008 when selected in the Under-17 squad for the National Football Team and made her debut in 2011 at the pre-Olympics tournament in Dhaka against Bangladesh. The Manipur-born girl started playing football at the age of 13 and nourished her talent by playing for India. She is currently playing for East Bengal Women's Football Club, whereas she played for Railways Women, New Radiant Women (Maldives), Rising Student Club (Cuttack, KRYPHSA (Cuttack), Sethu FC, and Gokulam Kerala FC in her early career.
Before her 100th match, Asalata shared excitement and mentioned "I am excited and happy that I will play my 100th game against Pakistan. This focus, however, will be on winning all the games and taking the trophy back home. This is the main dream and motive for coming to Nepal." She added, "I am looking forward to all the matches in the championship because it is an extremely important tournament to us. We already suffered a setback in the last SAFF, but it will be different this time."
