Mumbai: There was an unmissable void in the Indian women’s team attacking-line during the second-half of the 2024-25 Pro League season.
Veteran striker Vandana Katariya had announced her retirement, leaving the door open for the younger generation to take up goalscoring responsibilities.
But this was a team in transition. New players were still being identified to replace the older guard. There was a clear succession for Katariya though, in Sangita Kumari. Only, the 24-year-old missed the entire season because of a knee injury.
The team leaked goals while failing to convert the precious few chances they managed to create. It all resulted in India being relegated after finishing last in the season.
It has been a few months since the debacle. And the fit-again Sangita is raring to get back to playing for the national team.
The first assignment is the Asia Cup in Hangzhou, China, that starts on Friday, with a spot for next year’s World Cup up for grabs.
“There is pressure because we (the younger players) are the main members of the team now,” Sangita said to HT. “How we handle the pressure depends on us.”
This will be a new experience for Sangita, especially since Katariya is no longer in the team to guide the youngster.
“I used to talk to (Katariya) a lot. She would be the one guiding me on the field,” Sangita said. “And then we’d talk after practice also. I’d spend more time with her during the sessions meant specifically for strikers.”
Sangita is now expected to replace a player who played 320 times for the national team, scoring 158 goals. Including a hat-trick against South Africa, which helped the team qualify for the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Sangita was yet to make her senior India debut at that time. But the striker from Jharkhand has managed to score 28 times from 64 appearances. She made clear her goal-scoring ability within 10 minutes of her debut in February 2022.
“The senior players told me to enjoy the game and not to worry about making mistakes,” Sangita recalled about the buildup to her first match for the national team. “I had that in mind, went onto the field and scored.”
Against Spain in the 2021-22 Pro League, she controlled a loose ball just outside the shooting circle. She outmuscled her marker on the turn, evaded challenges from three defenders as she made her way towards goal before, on the dive, playing a reverse-hit that crashed into the net.
That goal changed the way her teammates saw her.
“Everyone started to expect more from me,” she added. “They would look after me and gave me a lot of freedom to play and learn. They would say, ‘tum jitna khulke khelte ho, utna he accha karte ho’ (the more freely you play, the better you perform).”
Of course, that was at a time when Sangita was still a budding player. Now she is a crucial cog in the squad.
“Sangita has been around for quite some time now, and her consistent performances have made her an integral part of our attack,” the team’s head coach Harendra Singh said to this publication.
“With Vandana no longer in the side, Sangita’s development has become even more significant, not just in terms of her scoring ability, but also in the responsibility she carries to lead and inspire our forward line.”
The team missed her dearly during the second half of the Pro League season. But while she was recovering, she got the unfortunate news about the demise of her childhood coach Pratima Barwa.
The renowned coach, who had groomed Sangita’s teammates Beauty Dungdung and India captain Salima Tete, died of a brain hemorrhage in June.
“I didn’t believe it,” Sangita said. “That was a difficult period for me because I wasn’t in the Pro League and the team was not doing well.”
Sangita is now looking ahead to the Asia Cup. India open their campaign against Thailand on Friday, followed by the match against Japan on September 6 and the final group stage match against Singapore on September 8.
The stakes are high though, as only the winning team will earn the direct World Cup spot.
But Sangita is driven by the memory of her late coach.
“She used to just say, ‘win it for the team,'” Sangita said. “I’m sure if she was still here she’d say the same thing. This time, qualify for the World Cup.”
Sangita has big shoes to fill as the team’s main forward. But she has shown time and again that she is capable of doing so.