Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian winger Manisha Kalyan has joined Cypriot Champions Apollon Ladies on a two-year deal. The news comes after her club Gokulam Kerala announced her departure on Sunday. The 20-year-old has won the Indian Women's League twice with Gokulam and also became the first Indian to score a goal in the continental club competition when she scored for the club in the AFC women's Asian championship.
Gokulam Kerala posted a tweet announcing Manisha Kalyan's departure. The tweet said, “Thank you, Manisha! After three illustrious years as a Malabarian and winning two IWL titles with us, Manisha has signed a two-year deal with Cypriot Champion Club Apollon Ladies. She is all set to become the first Indian to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League this season.”
The Cypriot champions are set to play in the first round of the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying. They will play Latvia's Riga FS on 18 August. If they emerge victorious, they will go head to head against the winners of Switzerland's FC Zurich and Klaksvik Kvinnur from Faroe Island.
Manisha Kalyan hails from Punjab and also has a crucial highlight in Indian Footballing history as she scored India’s first-ever goal against Brazil at the senior level. India held the 1-1 draw for an hour but then lost 6-1. Talking about her performance, the 20-year-old described the moment by saying: “It felt good after scoring a goal against Brazil. Most importantly, it was an equaliser, so it was more pleasing."
"When I started running with the ball, their (Brazil) defence was out of place so I decided to shoot and it went in. It was a joyous moment for me. I want to dedicate the goal to my teammates. We have worked hard on and off the field. It was teamwork and that’s why I was able to score the goal because of my team,” she added.
In the game, Manisha Kalyan also had another magical moment as she got a chance to play with her idol Formiga. She said, “It was a great experience sharing the pitch with my idol. It was Formiga’s farewell game. After the game, I took a selfie with her and told her that she is an inspiration to me. Formiga was surprised that we followed her game from India, and she also praised our efforts.”