The sweet taste of success

From Marzia to Tohura Khatun, or Anuching Mogini to Maria Manda -- these are average girls that you will find in every nook and corner of Bangladesh. And they represent perhaps the most neglected section in a country where you will find many of them working in garments factories, as house-help of the affluent families or in villages struggling to study while helping their parents in every way possible before becoming a victim of early marriage.

However, given the opportunity to express themselves in a playful manner, the Marzias and Tohuras showed that that world is a possibility for them no matter where they are from or which section of the society they belong to. Over the years we have been accustomed to seeing heavy defeats in whichever tournament Bangladesh feature in international sports in general, and football in particular.

But what these under-14 girls have scripted in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe in an AFC–sponsored  football tournament is something this fledgling nation will not only savour, but will also take note of; of the fact that possibility is unlimited if we really do care. It was not a kind of football tournament that the world took note of, but it's an event where you can have the first sight of what you are capable of, given the opportunity and proper care. In four games the Bangladesh girls have played in this tournament, called the AFC U-14 Girls' Regional Championship (South and Central), they have scored a staggering 25 goals on way to retaining the title they had clinched a year ago in a most adverse and dramatic circumstance in Kathmandu. They scored nine goals against Nepal, a team that they had beaten 1-0 in last year's final. They beat India twice, including a 4-0 win in the final. And for the record, it was Bangladesh's first-ever successes against India in any women's competition. A 9-1 win against hosts Tajikistan in the semifinal was quite a statement for the committed and well-drilled Bangladesh girls, who first made the headlines while training in a remote village under a selfless coach in a schoolyard.

Last night they returned home with their much-deserved trophy, and smiles etched on their faces. Skipper Marzia, who had scored the winning goal in last edition's final, said the team was better and more prepared this time. “We had better training this time. We were told we have to become champions. So we were amidst strict discipline,” said Marzia.

While Marzia was an integral part of the back-to-back triumphs, Tohura stole the limelight by becoming the top-scorer with 10 goals, which featured hattricks in both the semifinal and the final. The Class-VII student of Kalshindur High School said she was concentrating only on scoring goals.

 “The opposition teams were strong, but we played well. My job was to receive the ball from the defence, and I scored a few solo goals from that position.”

Tohura hoped that the football federation keeps them in training for the rest of the year so that they can build on this achievement for a bigger one in future.

Nilufar Yasmin, a defender who was playing for the team for the first time, said the success owed to the hard work they had done. “We did not think about our families in the last two months. We only trained hard and attended video sessions. And now we have got the result.”