Loitongbam Ashalata Devi

In this Meitei name, the family name is Loitongbam and the given name is Ashalata. "Devi" is a name suffix.

Ashalata Devi
Personal information
Full name Loitongbam Ashalata Devi
Date of birth (1993-07-03) 3 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Imphal, Manipur, India
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 East Bengal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
KRYPHSA
Railways
2015 New Radiant
2016–2017 Rising Student Club
2017–2018 KRYPHSA
2018–2022 Sethu 10 (1)
2022–2024 Gokulam Kerala 32 (4)
2024– East Bengal
International career‡
2008 India U17
2011– India 103 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 October 2024

Loitongbam Ashalata Devi (born 3 July 1993), known as Ashalata Devi, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Indian Women's League club East Bengal and captains the India women's national team.[1] Devi is considered one of the finest defenders from Asia.[2]

Early life

Devi was born in Imphal, Manipur.[3] She started playing football at the age of 13.[4]

Club career

New Radiant

In 2015, Devi signed for the Dhivehi Women's Premier League franchise New Radiant W.S.C.[5] She thus became the second Indian to play for a club outside India after Bembem Devi.[6] She won the league with the club in that particular season.[7]

Rising Student Club

In 2016, Devi signed for the newly formed Rising Student Club to feature in the first edition of the Indian Women's League.[8]

KRYPHSA

In 2017, Devi joined the Indian Women's League club KRYPHSA F.C. for the 2017–18 Indian Women's League season.[9]

Sethu

In 2018, Devi transferred to Tamil Nadu based club Sethu FC which participates in the Indian Women's League.[10] In the 2018–19 Indian Women's League season, Sethu won the tournament by defeating Manipur Police SC 1–3 in the finals, where Devi won her maiden Indian Women's League trophy.[11]

International career

In 2008 at the age of 15, Devi was called-up for India U17. Devi was called-up for the senior team and debuted in the year 2011.[12] She is the current captain of the India women's national football team. Devi played a pivotal role in India's success in qualifying for the 2021 Olympics (supposed to be held in 2020) which is going to be held in Tokyo. Devi has several achievements with the national team. Devi was a part of the Indian tea that won two South Asian Games gold medals in 2016[13] and 2019[14] and was also part of the team that won the SAFF Women's Championship four times consecutively, in 2012,[15] 2014,[16] 2016[17] and finally in 2019.[18] She was nominated by AFC for the women's player of the year in 2019[19] and was selected as the AIFF women's player of the year for her performance in the 2018–19 campaign.[20]

Career statistics

International stats

As of 27 October 2024
International caps and goals
Year Caps Goals
2011 3 0
2012 5 0
2013 5 0
2014 8 1
2015 2 1
2016 7 1
2017 7 0
2018 4 0
2019 27 3
2021 10 0
2022 6 0
2023 9 0
2024 10 0
Total 103 6

International goals

Scores and results list India's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Loitongbam Ashalata Devi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 September 2014 Incheon Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea  Maldives 10–0 15–0 2014 Asian Games
2 13 March 2015 Mandalar Thiri Stadium, Mandalay, Myanmar  Sri Lanka 2–0 4–0 2016 Olympic Qualifiers
3 15 February 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong, India  Nepal 4–0 4–0 2016 Olympic Qualifiers
4 6 April 2019 Mandalar Thiri Stadium, Mandalay, Myanmar  Nepal 3–1 3–1 2020 Olympic Qualifiers
5 4 August 2019 Estadi municipal Els Arcs de L'alcúdia, Valencia, Spain  Mauritania 5–0 7–0 Cotif Cup 2019
6 6–0

Honours

India

Sethu FC

Gokulam Kerala

Railways

New Radiant

Individual

  • Indian Women's League Best Defender: 2021–22
  • AIFF women's player of the year: 2018–19[23]
  • AFC women's player of the year 2019: Nominee

See also

References

  1. ^ "Indian Women's Football Team Captain Ashalata Devi Has Been Nominated For AFC 'Player Of The Year' Award". www.indiatimes.com. 17 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Beacons who lit the way for women's football in India". www.olympicchannel.com. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Ashalata Devi Loitongbam – Eurosport". www.eurosport.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. ^ "ASHALATA DEVI: "I TRY TO BE A BETTER PLAYER THAN WHAT I WAS YESTERDAY"". www.fistosports.com. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Bembem, Bala and Ashalata Devi invited to play in Maldivian League". All India Football Federation. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. ^ "The glorious saga of Indian women football team – Ashalata Devi section". Sports Libro. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Loitongbam Ashalata Devi signed for New Radiant". Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020 – via PressReader.
  8. ^ "Ashalata Devi: My family initially felt that football is not for girls". www.goal.com. 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  9. ^ Nayak, Nicolai. "Relishing challenges and leading by example: Meet Indian women's football team captain Ashalata Devi". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  10. ^ "The glorious saga of Indian women football team". Sports Libro. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Hero Indian Women's League 2018–19 , Final | Manipur Police Sports Club 1–3 Sethu". All India Football Federation. 22 May 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  12. ^ "ASHALATA DEVI: "I AM AFRAID OF NO ONE ON THE PITCH"". Sethu FC Official Website. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Indian Women win Gold in South Asian Games". All India Football Federation. 15 February 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Bala Devi brace powers Indian women's team to 3rd straight SAG Gold". All India Football Federation. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  15. ^ "INDIA DEFEND TITLE IN STYLE". All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Six star India retain SAFF Women's Championship". All India Football Federation. 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  17. ^ "India Defeat Bangladesh To Clinch The SAFF Cup 2016". feminismindia.com. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  18. ^ "INDIAN WOMEN CLINCH FIFTH STRAIGHT SAFF TITLE AFTER 3–1 WIN OVER NEPAL". All India Football Federation. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  19. ^ "India's Ashalata Devi nominated for AFC 'Player of the Year' award". The Times of India. 17 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  20. ^ "PRAFUL PATEL ANNOUNCES 2018–19 AIFF AWARDS". All India Football Federation. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Gokulam Kerala steamroll Kickstart to complete hat-trick of Hero IWL titles". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 May 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Indian Women's League 2023: Gokulam Kerala thrash Kickstart FC 5–0 to win third consecutive title". sportstar.thehindu.com. Chennai: Sportstar. 21 May 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  23. ^ Sportstar, Team (9 July 2019). "Sunil Chhetri and Ashalata Devi bag top honours at AIFF Awards". sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.