![\"Kamala](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Kamala-Devi-football.jpg\")
Kuala Lumpur: You sit on the other side of the table and realise the very first minute itself that you are actually on the wrong side. Soft spoken as she is, it is quite a task to hear what Kamala Devi speaks. You pull a chair nearby, but nothing much changes. <\/p>\n
Quite contrarily, you mention about her being a \u2018character of opposite on the field.\u2019 Kamala smiles and the next moment you curse yourself — maybe you shouldn\u2019t have mentioned it. Kamala has gone softer, leaving you no option to pull the chair again. \u201cAs a senior player, it\u2019s an extra responsibility,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are the younger girls looking up to you and you cannot let them down,\u201d Kamala, who first played for India in 2008 in the U-19 AFC Championship in Kuala Lumpur mentions. \u201cWe stayed in this same hotel,\u201d Kamala waves around in the banquet hall. She goes numb after that, you look up and she smiles. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of obstacles during childhood. My parents never allowed me to play and I was kept reminded that Football is a sport not for girls,\u201d she speaks head down. \u201cBut I was stubborn enough and continued to play.\u201d \u2018But aren\u2019t they proud of you?\u2019 \u201cThey are no more in this World. My dad passed away long back while my mom left us three months back. Off-course they were very proud of me. I presently live with my mausi,\u201d she informs. <\/p>\n
Goalkeeping coach Ronibala Devi describes Kamala as a very \u201chard working player.\u201d \u201cOn and off the field, she is very disciplined. She is in fact, the perfect role model for other girls. And she speaks very softly,\u201d we all smiled together, including Kamala. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was during the National Games in Manipur (1999) that I came to know that a Women\u2019s Team also exists in every state. People used to hear commentary on radio and I as a small kid used to sit and hear too. Bem-di (Bem Bem Devi), Chouba-ojha (Chaoba Devi \u2013 the present Assistant Coach of the Senior National Women\u2019s Team) were all part of that Manipur team. Sitting next, Chaoba\u2019s eyes lit up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was quite a tournament.\u201d \u201cShe is a very skilful player. I feel she has been blessed with all the qualities a striker should possess,\u201d Chouba certifies later. During her initial days, however, Kamala started as a winger. \u201cIn one of the Camps Jabbar-Sir (Shahid Jabbar) shifted me as a striker. It made me more confident as a player.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe more you play at the international level, the more confident you grow. You learn to work on your speed, combination, communication. This exposure tour cannot have come at a better time for us,\u201d Kamala opines. \u201cWe are raring to go. Maymol-Maam (Maymol Rocky, the current Indian Senior Women\u2019s Team Coach) has been a huge inspiration for us and we want to give her a gift,\u201d she echoes. <\/p>\n
\u201cI play cricket and love to play sepak takraw as well. It\u2019s so exciting,\u201d you can now hear Kamala from a distance. \u201cIn Manipur, the sociological focus is mostly on sports. You are encouraged to play and you will see kids playing all over. When I first started playing with the boys, I was rebuked a bit, but at the end of the first day, there was respect,\u201d she recollects. \u201cThe boys have since then, been a huge support, encouraging me to continue playing.\u201d At the training session, she is one of the firsts to hit the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdhar, idhar, she shouts to the others who are walking in. The others, still quite a distance far, hears and starts to jog to Kamala\u2019s side. You wonder — it was quite a task to hear her speak sitting next. A Footballer always has two characters \u2013 on and off the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kuala Lumpur: You sit on the other side of the table and realise the very first minute itself that you are actually on the wrong side. Soft spoken as she is, it is quite a task to hear what Kamala Devi speaks. You pull a chair nearby, but nothing much changes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[1343,6480,466,14599],"class_list":["post-35277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football-football","tag-football","tag-indian-sports","tag-indian-sports-news","tag-kamala-devi"],"yoast_head":"\n