It's a gimmick. But atleast she is training in a competitive environment throughout the year unlike the woman players here, where the league is just a month long.
Bala Devi returns to footballing action for Rangers FC in Scotland
The Indian football ecosystem has already started to move forward together with the Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 and Mohammedan Sporting already sealing a berth in the Hero I-League 2020-21. The Qualifier has been the first-ever sporting action in India organised by any sporting Federation since the lockdown.
Add to that -- around four-and-a-half thousand miles away, another Indian has just hit the pitch.
Indian Women’s National Team forward Bala Devi had decided to stay back in Glasgow, Scotland during the worldwide lockdown enforced by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Now, however, the 30-year-old is back on the field as the Scottish Women’s Premier League resumed on October 18, 2020.
Rangers Women FC got off to a flying start with a 5-1 victory over SWPL side Hearts on Sunday as Bala Devi also made her return to the pitch, coming on as a second-half substitute.
"It was really good to be back on the football pitch once again. Being away from the pitch for so many months is not a good feeling," Bala said to the-aiff.com.
"But all those months of hard work paid off, and we have now started off with a win but this is only the start of a long season ahead."
Bala had been training for the Rangers for around two months ahead of her first post-pandemic game against Hearts Women FC.
“I have been training with the team for about a couple of months now, and hopefully we will be physically ready to go once the league starts,” Bala said.
“Of course, our team gave us our fitness programmes, which was optional for us to follow when the pandemic struck. But I made it a point to follow the training modules given to me,” said Bala. “The workouts I could do at home, I did indoors. I found a park near my home here in Glasgow, and did most of my training there, when it was safe to go out. Since there was a lot of open space I was also able to do some running, and that felt good.”
Such was her determination to keep her mind within the realm of the ‘Beautiful Game’ that she doubled up her training efforts by joining her teammates from the Indian Women’s Team to train together online.
“It was fun to get together with my buddies from the National Team and train with them over video conferencing. It’s not something that I have done often. But this is one of the things that has developed because of the lockdown,” she continued.
However, it has not always been an easy time at her new home in the British Isles. Moving to a new country where one does not know as many people takes its toll.
“The first month I was feeling quite lonely because all the other players went home as they were from nearby areas -- or at least from somewhere in the UK or the neighbouring countries. It was just a few others and myself that actually stayed back,” said Bala.
“But I kept in touch with everyone and that helped. The coaches also took good care of me. They even took me out shopping once the lockdown was over. These are very small things in the larger scheme of things, but they do help lighten your spirits,” she continued.
“I’ve been in this set frame of mind since May. All I’ve thought about is how to work on my fitness. I repeatedly kept thinking that I should not have any physical issues once we actually start playing football,” she averred. “From as far back as I can remember, this really was the longest period I spent away from the pitch, and I’m just glad that this phase is over now.”
The mercurial India striker feels that the months she spent in self-isolation gave her a new perspective on how to do things.
“That time really taught me how we should be ready for different situations in life. We never know what may happen. A few years back, I would have laughed if anyone had told me that all major global activities would come to a standstill for a few months. But that is what happened,” she said.
“We should all be ready to adjust ourselves according to the problems that life throws at us. If we are flexible, we can manoeuvre our way through anything. Take everything into your stride and be the best that you can in any given situation.”
No reason why East Bengal and Mohun Bagan can't have women's derby: Bala Devi
Indian women's football star N Bala Devi says there is no reason why football giants SC East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan cannot create their respective women's team and develop a high-stake women's Kolkata derby.
Traditional rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will clash in the Indian Super League for the first time on Friday since their mergers with ATK and Shree Cement respectively and Bala Devi hopes to see a similar derby soon for the women's game.
"The big two Kolkata clubs can easily create women's teams, the players there are blessed with natural talent," said the pathbreaking footballer, who recently featured in the 'Old Firm Derby' -- one of the oldest football rivalries in the world between Rangers FC and Celtic FC in Scottish women's league.
"Rangers and Celtic did this in just less than a year to build their women's teams. Our two Kolkata clubs can do the same in the same time frame from today."
The 30-year-old trailblazer said if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan can form their women's team it will immensely help women's football in the country.
"When I started playing junior football in 2002, we used to keep playing finals against the Bengal team. The girls from Bengal were really skillful and back in those days. There were many players from the state in the national team," she said.
"But now, there's just the one or two players. I think if Mohun Bagan and East Bengal do what Celtic and Rangers are doing and form women's teams, then it will be really beneficial not just for Bengal, but for India as well."
Bala Devi's entry into Scottish football comes at a time when the women's league in Scotland has been undergoing a drastic overhaul.
In 2018, all the stakeholders of the women's game in Scotland agreed that they needed to take a step forward and in a brief period. The Scottish Women's Premier League has developed rapidly that BBC Scotland started broadcasting select matches from this year.
Bala Devi believes there is no reason why the same cannot be done in India.
"Manipur produces a lot of players because there are a lot of matches there, across all age groups," she said.
"But in other states, such matches don't happen. So, if we had a system where girls can get matches throughout the year, then more and more players will come up. For this, all the clubs should maintain women's teams. Players can't train by themselves, they need the necessary infrastructure to do so."
The first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas with Rangers FC, Bala Devi has been slowly making headway into the competitive world of women's football.
"People now recognise me in the supermarkets when I go out," she says. "They're always wishing me good luck for my next match. There's even a picture of me at the Ibrox Stadium," she said.
"People have immense respect for football here, I see them standing for 45 minutes straight during each half. That shows you how much they love the teams and motivate the players.
Are East Bengal and Mohun Bagan running charity programmes? She should question the AIFF why there isn't any structure for clubs to invest in for women's teams.
0 goals, 0 assists for a number 10 at Rangers, hope Bala Devi still has that government job in Manipur this summer.
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The Indian football ecosystem has already started to move forward together with the Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 and Mohammedan Sporting already sealing a berth in the Hero I-League 2020-21. The Qualifier has been the first-ever sporting action in India organised by any sporting Federation since the lockdown.
Add to that -- around four-and-a-half thousand miles away, another Indian has just hit the pitch.
Indian Women’s National Team forward Bala Devi had decided to stay back in Glasgow, Scotland during the worldwide lockdown enforced by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Now, however, the 30-year-old is back on the field as the Scottish Women’s Premier League resumed on October 18, 2020.
Rangers Women FC got off to a flying start with a 5-1 victory over SWPL side Hearts on Sunday as Bala Devi also made her return to the pitch, coming on as a second-half substitute.
"It was really good to be back on the football pitch once again. Being away from the pitch for so many months is not a good feeling," Bala said to the-aiff.com.
"But all those months of hard work paid off, and we have now started off with a win but this is only the start of a long season ahead."
Bala had been training for the Rangers for around two months ahead of her first post-pandemic game against Hearts Women FC.
“I have been training with the team for about a couple of months now, and hopefully we will be physically ready to go once the league starts,” Bala said.
“Of course, our team gave us our fitness programmes, which was optional for us to follow when the pandemic struck. But I made it a point to follow the training modules given to me,” said Bala. “The workouts I could do at home, I did indoors. I found a park near my home here in Glasgow, and did most of my training there, when it was safe to go out. Since there was a lot of open space I was also able to do some running, and that felt good.”
Such was her determination to keep her mind within the realm of the ‘Beautiful Game’ that she doubled up her training efforts by joining her teammates from the Indian Women’s Team to train together online.
“It was fun to get together with my buddies from the National Team and train with them over video conferencing. It’s not something that I have done often. But this is one of the things that has developed because of the lockdown,” she continued.
However, it has not always been an easy time at her new home in the British Isles. Moving to a new country where one does not know as many people takes its toll.
“The first month I was feeling quite lonely because all the other players went home as they were from nearby areas -- or at least from somewhere in the UK or the neighbouring countries. It was just a few others and myself that actually stayed back,” said Bala.
“But I kept in touch with everyone and that helped. The coaches also took good care of me. They even took me out shopping once the lockdown was over. These are very small things in the larger scheme of things, but they do help lighten your spirits,” she continued.
“I’ve been in this set frame of mind since May. All I’ve thought about is how to work on my fitness. I repeatedly kept thinking that I should not have any physical issues once we actually start playing football,” she averred. “From as far back as I can remember, this really was the longest period I spent away from the pitch, and I’m just glad that this phase is over now.”
The mercurial India striker feels that the months she spent in self-isolation gave her a new perspective on how to do things.
“That time really taught me how we should be ready for different situations in life. We never know what may happen. A few years back, I would have laughed if anyone had told me that all major global activities would come to a standstill for a few months. But that is what happened,” she said.
“We should all be ready to adjust ourselves according to the problems that life throws at us. If we are flexible, we can manoeuvre our way through anything. Take everything into your stride and be the best that you can in any given situation.”
https://www.the-aiff.com/article/bala-devi-returns-to-footballing-action-for-rangers-fc-in-scotland
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/vance-header-defeats-spartans-in-edinburgh/5bH5WFaBaSUshuDh7upWCy
This is her official Twitter account
https://twitter.com/BalaDevi_10?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
https://twitter.com/RangersWFC
No reason why East Bengal and Mohun Bagan can't have women's derby: Bala Devi
Indian women's football star N Bala Devi says there is no reason why football giants SC East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan cannot create their respective women's team and develop a high-stake women's Kolkata derby.
Traditional rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will clash in the Indian Super League for the first time on Friday since their mergers with ATK and Shree Cement respectively and Bala Devi hopes to see a similar derby soon for the women's game.
"The big two Kolkata clubs can easily create women's teams, the players there are blessed with natural talent," said the pathbreaking footballer, who recently featured in the 'Old Firm Derby' -- one of the oldest football rivalries in the world between Rangers FC and Celtic FC in Scottish women's league.
"Rangers and Celtic did this in just less than a year to build their women's teams. Our two Kolkata clubs can do the same in the same time frame from today."
The 30-year-old trailblazer said if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan can form their women's team it will immensely help women's football in the country.
"When I started playing junior football in 2002, we used to keep playing finals against the Bengal team. The girls from Bengal were really skillful and back in those days. There were many players from the state in the national team," she said.
"But now, there's just the one or two players. I think if Mohun Bagan and East Bengal do what Celtic and Rangers are doing and form women's teams, then it will be really beneficial not just for Bengal, but for India as well."
Bala Devi's entry into Scottish football comes at a time when the women's league in Scotland has been undergoing a drastic overhaul.
In 2018, all the stakeholders of the women's game in Scotland agreed that they needed to take a step forward and in a brief period. The Scottish Women's Premier League has developed rapidly that BBC Scotland started broadcasting select matches from this year.
Bala Devi believes there is no reason why the same cannot be done in India.
"Manipur produces a lot of players because there are a lot of matches there, across all age groups," she said.
"But in other states, such matches don't happen. So, if we had a system where girls can get matches throughout the year, then more and more players will come up. For this, all the clubs should maintain women's teams. Players can't train by themselves, they need the necessary infrastructure to do so."
The first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas with Rangers FC, Bala Devi has been slowly making headway into the competitive world of women's football.
"People now recognise me in the supermarkets when I go out," she says. "They're always wishing me good luck for my next match. There's even a picture of me at the Ibrox Stadium," she said.
"People have immense respect for football here, I see them standing for 45 minutes straight during each half. That shows you how much they love the teams and motivate the players.
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/no-reason-why-cant-east-bengal-and-mohun-bagan-have-womens-derby-bala-devi/article33177466.ece
0 goals, 0 assists for a number 10 at Rangers, hope Bala Devi still has that government job in Manipur this summer.