Michel CASTANHA, Goa’S RISING star

You must have seen the movie ‘Dangal’ wherein two girls Geeta and her national champion sister Babita, who made the country proud, began their career wrestling with boys. But unlike the wrestling mat, it was the football ground where Goa’s Michel Castanha began her career playing with the boys and became the youngest player to make it to the National team.
“I used to play football along with the local boys which helped me to become strong enough on the ground and improve my game,” Michel disclosed, adding it works if you play with the boys.
The 24-year-old Curtorim girl, who plays the midfielder’s role, began playing football at the age of eight. She began her career with a local Maharashtra club, from where, there was no looking back.
 “My father was a football player and looking at him playing I got the liking for the game. My family was not that supportive but it was coach Maria Rebelo who inspired me to take up ‘The Beautiful Game’. But as my name started appearing on the newspapers my parents also started supporting me and helped me take my career further in football,” Michel said.
“I started my career from a local club (Bodyline Club) from Maharashtra after which I played my first National at the age of 12 in the Under-17 category in Chandigarh in 2005 as there was only Under-17, Under-19 and senior category,” Michel informed.
“Later I was selected for the Under-19 team and the senior team where I was the youngest to play for the National team,” she added.
Michel, who represented India at the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers 2018 in South Korea, missed out the opportunity to play for the Nationals this year due to her examinations.
When asked over her selection for the Pune City team in I-League, Michel said, “I was listed in the draft by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) since I have played for the senior national team and as such it didn’t take me much effort to be there.”
At the Vedanta Women’s Football League 2017 Player Draft, it was Michel who drew a big applaud from the crowd when her name was selected for the Panjim Dolphins team, which made her the star of Goa.
“It was a surprise for me and now that the people have made me feel so important I need to work more hard as everyone looks at me as a great player and I need to stay at their expectations. I need to be more focused,” Michel said.
Giving a message to the young aspirant women footballers Michel said, “The GFA and Vedanta have taken a big step by starting the women’s league and this is a platform where one can prove one’s talent. This is the opportunity which we need to grab as it will help us in our future.”
Speaking about the team in the league, Michel said it will be a tough completion as the top players are equally divided between the six teams.
“Defender Alisha, Linda who play for the State team in the first eleven, besides striker Karishma are the top players in my team (Panjim Dolphins) but in my opinion all the teams are tough and it will take lot of efforts for all to make it to the final,” she concluded.

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