Indian football is going through tumultuous times but amid all of that Indian football star Dangmei Grace has joined Uzbek outfit FC Nasaf. It is her first step towards her dream of playing abroad. The Indian forward dreamt about this day for years and now finally after putting in a lot of hard work she has got it in her grasp and she is eager to prove everyone right at Nasaf for giving her this opportunity.
“I am extremely excited. It’s a dream come true for me,” Grace said. “It was not an overnight dream for me. In fact, playing abroad has been a dream for a long. I used to daydream a lot about this day. It’s an opportunity for me to show my skills, and be a good ambassador for Indian women’s football,” Grace shared after joining the club.
The girl from Manipur started her international career back in 2013 and has won several accolades with the Blue Tigresses. Over the last few years she has been one of the mainstays for India. She has been a livewire for India for sometime now and will look to level up now given that she is plying her trade in Uzbekistan.
In the Indian Women’s League she has plied her trade for KRYPSHA FC followed by Sethu FC back in 2018-19 before she jumped ship to join Gokulam Kerala FC. Therefore she has won two IWL titles and by the virtue of which she has also featured in the AFC Women’s Club Championship.
“I want to share my experience as I have played with the National Team for many years. I want to explore myself here and I have played three international matches against the Uzbekistan National team, and they are very tough,” Grace added.
The Indian forward is known for his pace and great dribbling skills but she is open to adapt in a new environment as she understands that it will take time to adjust to new situations in a new country. “I know everything will be different in Uzbekistan — their playing style, the culture. I will need to adapt fast, make new friends. But I am extremely excited to bring on this new challenge and share my experiences,” she continued.
Grace who won the Emerging Player of the Year in 2019 has scored a brace against Indonesia in the Olympic qualifiers and also scored a great goal against Venezuela in their recent tour of Brazil. The Indian international wants young girls to keep trying and they will surely get where she is today. “My message to the young girls will be, keep trying — anything can happen if you keep believing in yourself. Whatever challenges you face please don’t give up, keep trying until you reach your goal,”she concluded.
