Two Kendrapara girls bend it like Beckham

Express News Service, 11 Feb 2010

KENDRAPARA: Two village girls of Kendrapara district kept the Indian flag flying in the recently-held South Asian Games in Dhaka. Sasmita Mallick (20) of Goudapatana and Alochana Senapati (20) of Mulasahi under Aul block represented India in women’s football and won the gold medal for the country. India defeated Nepal in the final on February 8.
It was a dream come true for the duo who got a chance to represent the country in their chosen sport. There was much celebration in their villages when the news trickled in.

Today many villagers came to the three-room mudwalled thatched house of Alochana to congratulate her after she returned from Dhaka.
‘’Before going to Dhaka, I had a burning desire to stand on the victory podium and sing the National Anthem. Now I am happy that I realised my dream by winning gold for India,’’ said Sasmita.
In the games, Sasmita scored eight goals in five matches. ‘’I took to football at the age of 10 when I was in Class V. Since 2006 I had been working hard to represent the country. Every day I practise for three to four hours apart from doing other types of exercises under the watchful eyes of Bijaya Kumar Kanungo in the SAI sports hostel in Bhubaneswar,’’ said Sasmita.

Three other girls - Supriya Routray of Cuttack, Gitanjali Khuntia of Bhubaneswar and Pinki Dampal Magar of Jharsuguda also represented India in the Games, said Mohammed Jabar, chief coach of the Indian team.
‘’Sasmita and Alochana are talented and their dedication has been proved in the district and State levels.

I had high expectations from them in the South Asian Games, ’ ’ said Jabar. Aul is the cradle of women’s football in Orissa.Five girls from Aul areas had already represented India, said Debendra Sharma, vice-president of Women’s Football Association of Orissa.

Yudhistir Mallick (47), father of Sasmita, is a plumber and earns Rs 3,000 a month. ‘’It was difficult for me to look after five members of my family, so I allowed my daughter to stay in the sports hostel,’’ Yudhistir said.Alochana’s father Dhruba Charana Senapati works as a clerk in the sub-registrar office at Aul.‘’I am feeling proud for the achievement of my daughter,’’ said Dhruba.