Swapna dazzles Japan
The coach of the JFA Sakai Academy lauded Sirat Jahan Swapna, the striker of the Bangladesh Under-16 women's football team during the girls' tour to Japan where they participated in the J-Green Sakai Lady's Festival in Osaka.
Bangladesh stunned Sakai Academy 2-1 in a practice match, with Swapna scoring one of two goals and the lanky girl constantly threatened the opposition's backline with incisive runs throughout the tournament, wreaking havoc in all seven of Bangladesh's matches. Swapna scored more than half of the team's goals, scoring eight of the 13 that Bangladesh netted.
“The head coach of Sakai Academy lavished praised on Swapna as she was very fast with the ball,” said coach Golam Rabbani Choton at a press conference where he evaluated the performance of the girls in Japan yesterday.
“Not only Swapna, players like Krishna, Maria, Marzia and Sanjida were also praised by different coaches. The head coach of Tokai University Shoyo Team wanted to know how this group of girls were picked and how long they had been together.”
Swapna, who had also struck five goals in SAFF Women's Championship to help Bangladesh become runners-up for the first time, said that the girls had just played their natural game to produce the impressive results.
“We were a bit worried before playing the first match against Sakai Academy because they had thrashed the Thailand under-16 team 10-0, but our coaches inspired us to give a hundred per cent in chilly conditions. We did not think twice about giving our best and just played our natural game,” said Swapna.
“I didn't get goals during the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers and since then Choton Sir and Litu Sir gave me some tips to help get rid of the problems. Now, I stay calm in the attacking third and see the position of the goalkeeper as well as the post and then place [my shots],” Swapna revealed as the secret behind scoring ability.
Captain Krishna Rani Sarker was very impressed to see the facilities at the Sakai Academy.
“It was a totally different experience for us. It was a dream come true for us to practice and play matches in the Sakai Academy. We were busy with football the whole day except during our sleep,” said Krishna. “We also learnt self-service as we cleaned our own plates and bowls after meals, but we do not do that here,” added the captain.
“We are a bit slower than the Japanese players because they play very fast with one-or-two touches and they also widen the field. To be honest, we have learnt a lot from them and I think it will help us in the future,” said stopper Masura Parvin.