Sajana Rana is one of the few players in the history of Nepali football who started playing for the national team as a teenager. The women’s national team skipper Sajana who hails from Syangja put on the national team jersey for the first time at the age of 15 in South Asian Games (SAG)’s match against host Bangladesh held in 2010.
Besides the national team, midfielder Sajana, 23, also leads the Armed Police Force (APF)’s women team, the country’s most successful team in women’s football. Sajana gives credit to her family and APF for her achievements so far.
“To chose football as a career was hard and challenging,” says Sajana who was studying in grade eight when she started her football career. “Without the support from my family I wouldn’t have been able to come this far. APF also has a huge role to play in my success so far,” she says.
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Sajana joined APF at the age of 16, and she has won some important titles including the CoAS National Women's Football Tournament and gold medal in the sixth National Games. She is now a constable in APF and believes that this job will help her progress in her football career as well.
“It is very hard to survive playing football in the country but having job in the Armed Police Force allows me to play freely without any financial worries,” explains Sajana. The midfielder has represented Nepal in three out of four editions of the SAFF Women’s Championship where she helped her country win the runner-ups’ trophy in each occasion. However, she was absent in the 2016 SAFF Championship held in India due to the injury. But she made her come back in the national team at a friendly match against Malaysia two months earlier where she wore the captain’s armband for the first time.
The head coach of the women’s national team, Kumar Thapa, who made Sajana the captain of the team, says she is perfectly capable of handling the responsibilities that comes with the title. “Beside great footballing instincts, she has all the qualities of a leader and is able to motivate her teammates,” says Thapa, a former national player. “Sajana is also the most experienced player in the team and I believe she will take our country’s women’s national team to great heights,” he adds.
As far as future plans are concerned, Sajana just wants to keep playing. “I don’t want to think about what I’ll do when I retire. For now, I love playing football and will continue to do my best,” she concludes.
(Prabin Bikram Katwal)
