Superwoman Bembem Devi wins long awaited Arjuna Award

Unknown to many, Oinam Bembem Devi is a woman Indian Professional footballer, representing India for the past two decades. She finally gets her hand on the prestigious Arjuna Award announced on 18^th August, thus becoming only the second Indian woman footballer to win the award after former National team captain Shanti Mullick in 1983.

Bembem was nominated by the AIFF alongside the stars like Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for the coveted award, consisting of a cash prize of INR 500,000, a bronze statue of Arjuna and a scroll.

“This is an Award for Indian women’s football. I hope this award will help remove the mental block and inspire all girls in the society to take up the sport”, she quoted.

“It gives me immense satisfaction to see my name in the same list as the greatest Indian sportsperson across all fields. My sacrifice over the past two decades has not gone waste. I need to thank all teammates, my coaches, AIFF and the entire football fraternity along with my family for their support”, she added.

The Manipur-born star midfielder, sobriqueted as the ‘Durga of Indian Football’, made her international debut in 1995 scoring 32 goals in 85 appearances. She was awarded the AIFF woman footballer award twice, in 2001 and 2013. She retired on a high winning the SAF Games Gold Medal in Shillong in 2015.

Women’s head coach Maymol Rocky expressed her happiness over the phone, “No one deserves the Arjuna Award more than Bembem. She has done so much for Indian Football both on and off the field. I am very happy for her. Congratulations.”

She is the 25^th football player to win the award, the last being won by Subrata Paul won it in 2016. Devi has been making unparalleled contribution to Women’s football in India since the past two decades. Though her award was long-overdue, football fans all over the world can now rejoice the honour the Indian Government has finally decided to grant her.