A girl from Bengal represented India at the recently-concluded bilateral series between India and Japan in blind football for women.

The Indian team, comprising girls from all over India, fought well but went down the series 2-0 against Japan, who are the top ranked team in the world.

Indian coach Sunil J Mathew was all praises for Sangita Metya, the lone girl representing Bengal.

India played two games, one indoor and another outdoor. Sangita, who has represented India before, was happy to gain valuable experience of playing abroad and hoped she can utilise the valuable tips from playing against top class teams to better use in her future appearances for the country.

Her coach Goutam Dey, general secretary, Football Association for the Blind of Bengal, feels Sangita can do a lot better if she gets little backing from the state government.

Sangita said, “Our performance was pretty good but we lost to a superior team. Abroad blind players are treated at par with the able-bodied players. We need better nutrition and better ground for training to be world beaters.”

Dey said India lost the second game 0-2, tough one again, but this was a good experience overall.

Mathew, who is also sporting director & head coach, Indian Blind Football Federation, said, “Sangita did really well. I’m happy to see how her game progressed and hope she will do much better. The women’s team did well considering we didn’t tour with the full team as three of our main players were not present due their personal reasons (exams etc) and the 7 players, who got a chance to play, did well. They can perform better if there is a focussed attention to developing their strength, fitness and overall football skills. There has been no push or interest to develop the women’s team from the govt side yet. This effort has been primarily IBFF’s initiative to develop the game and ensure the Indian women’s side gets exposure and play a high quality team (Japan World No 1) and gain experience as we prepare the team for the future. Our aim is to qualify for the next Paralympics in LA’28.”