Indian Football: Ashalata Devi Poised to Create History, First Indian Woman To Reach Unique Feat

Ashalata Devi, the seasoned Indian football star is on the cusp of a unique feat as she is all set to become the first Indian woman to reach 100 international caps. Once she reaches the landmark in the SAFF Championship opening match against Pakistan on Thursday., it will cement her legacy as one of the greatest footballers in the country's history.Devi, a mainstay in the Indian women's national team for over a decade, has consistently performed for India and shown her leadership, skill, and dedication on the field.The 31-year-old from Manipur made her debut for India against Bangladesh in March 2011, and the star defender has come a long way since then."When she pulled on an Indian shirt for the first time ... in the pre-Olympics in Dhaka against Bangladesh in March 2011, few would have imagined that Ashalata Devi would take Indian women’s football by storm in quite the way she has," the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said while hailing Devi's feat.Ashalata also expressed happiness on her feat and said, “I am excited and happy that I will play my 100th game against Pakistan.““The 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 told AIFF.“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,” said a determined Ashalata.Born in Imphal, Devi began playing football at the age of 13. When she was 15, she was called up for the India U-17 team in 2008."This is the sixth time I will play in SAFF. We were champions four times. I want to win this year's title for us because it's a special championship for me. We are determined to prove ourselves," she said.India are in Group A with Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Nepal are in Group B with Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan. The team just arrived in Nepal after a three-week camp in Goa.