Sports News | Odisha Police Keen to Make Its Presence Felt Against Holders Gokulam Kerala in IWL
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Defending champions Gokulam Kerala will begin their Indian Women's League (IWL) campaign against debutants Odisha Police, a team which is keen to make its presence felt, here on Saturday.
Bhubaneswar, Apr 15 (PTI) Defending champions Gokulam Kerala will begin their Indian Women's League (IWL) campaign against debutants Odisha Police, a team which is keen to make its presence felt, here on Saturday.
Gokulam became the first-ever Indian women's club to play in an AFC club tournament -- the AFC Women's Club Championship in 2021 and the star-studded squad is aiming for a solid start to its campaign this season.
Head coach Anthony Andrews sounded confident about the team's preparations.
"The preparation for the Hero Indian Women's League has been good. We know how important the league is to us, and we are lucky to have had a few sessions with the players before they were leaving for national duties," Andrews said.
Speaking about their opponents Odisha Police, he added: "Odisha Police are a good team. They have won their state league, and know what it takes to win every single match. They have retained their players, and the team has been together for a long time."
For Odisha Police, who won the state league, it will be a novel experience, and an interesting challenge to play against the best of the country.
"Our girls are working in different districts, and that didn't allow us much time to prepare. But the big platform that IWL is, we are ready to give it our all.
"For the first time ever, players in the IWL players are getting more matches to perform. We will be taking it step by step and work on different aspects of our game. No doubt Gokulam are one of the best teams in this tournament. But we will work as a team and try to win our first match," Odisha Police head coach Shradhanjali Samantaray said.
In other matches of the day, Ahmedabad-based ARA FC will start their IWL campaign against Odisha Sports, while former champions Sethu Madurai FC will take on debutants Mata Rukmani FC from Chhattisgarh.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)