THE LATEST edition of the Hero Indian Women’s League saw the SSB team put on a fine show, and reach the semi-finals. At the forefront of the team's successful run was National Team midfielder Sangita Basfore, who stated that she feels like a "player transformed" due to her continuous development with the Indian Senior Women’s National Team.
"I came to play in the IWL after four continuous months of training with the Senior National team. Almost immediately could see and feel how much my game had changed," Sangita smiled during an interaction with www.the-aiff.com.
The Indian Senior Women’s Team are currently training in the Capital for the forthcoming back to back Friendly matches against Uzbekistan on August 30, and September 2, 2019.
Sangita stressed that she is an “entirely transformed player.”
“The months we spent with the National Team, and the exposure we gained helped us to improve a lot. From my movement, to passing range, to decision making, to off the ball movement, I feel I have come up a long way,” Sangita stated.
The 21-year-old, despite her young age, has emerged as one of the key figures in the team in recent times and feels that it is her responsibility to "inspire" the other players in the team, especially the fresh faces.
"The coach always says to me -- 'dusro ko saath leke khelna hai.’ I feel the urge to improve my game, and inspire the players around me. It is a great feeling to be given such a responsibility. I am already seeing the newcomers learning from us, and pushing hard," she mentioned.
Under Head Coach Maymol Rocky, the Women's National Team picked up four straight wins in Hong Kong, and Indonesia at the start of 2019, and in the next three months, they defended their SAFF title in Nepal while also playing hard-fought games against the likes of Romania, Myanmar and Uzbekistan.
“The quality of time spent by the players together has helped them immensely both on and off the field,” Sangita, who hails from Kalyani, maintained. "We are a team that is growing rapidly. Thanks to the continuous game time, we have developed an understanding amongst ourselves on the pitch, which is extremely important, especially for me since I am a midfielder. Off the field, there is a great bonding and camaraderie in the team," she informed.
AIFF media release