Dangmei Grace, prolific India women's team forward, feels everyone in the team is a "star" in their own capacity and playing with these stars has made her really "proud."
"After joining the national team as a professional player and especially after playing with the stars of the national team, I'm very proud and it has helped me grow as a player immensely. Aditi (Chauhan), Ashalata (Devi), Sangita (Basfore) and every one of this team is a star," Grace mentioned during the AIFF TV interaction on Sunday.
"For me, it's a relief to join the team once again after the pandemic situation," she further added.
The forthcoming FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup would be game-changers in terms of populating women's football in India and the tournaments will inspire the younger generation to take up football more seriously.
"We have hosted U-17 boy's World Cup in India and we saw the amount of support across the nation. As a women's team player in India, I would request everyone to give more focus on the Indian women's football team as it would bring a lot of changes in the Indian football history," Grace said.
"We are hosting two monumental tournaments in 2022. I think these (tournaments) will be an inspiration to the younger generation. I aspire to play my part in AFC Women's Asian Cup and face top-ranking teams like Japan, Australia and others. I would be the luckiest person to represent my country at that stage and my family would be prouder.
"The U-17 Women's World cup will be a landmark in Indian football history. It will inspire the youngsters to play the game more seriously. It will be an inspiration for the parents too," the striker stated.
Grace stated that she's closer to Bala Devi and her professional career motivates her further. Bala has signed a professional contract with Scottish giant Rangers FC and she has written a new chapter in Indian football history when she scored against Motherwell LFC on December 6 to be the first Indian footballer to have scored a goal in a top-flight league in a European nation.
"Every player nurtures a dream to play abroad. Bala-di has been doing a tremendous job and it's an inspiration to the youngsters, not only me. Bala-di has shown the path that if we work hard, we can reach that level," Grace maintained.
( With inputs from ANI )
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