Purnima Kumari
Purnima Kumari (born 10 February 2005)[1] is an Indian football player from Jharkhand. She plays for the India women's national football team as a defender. She is registered with the Tamil Nadu Football Association, and plays for Sethu Football Club, Madurai in the domestic tournaments.
Early life and education
[edit]Kumari is from Jambahar village, Thethaitanger block, Simdega district, Jharkhand.[2] Her father’s name Jeetu Manjhi and she has five sisters and a brother, Ranjit Manjhi, who is a daily wage worker. Her brother also runs a roadside cart to sell instant food. Her second eldest sister, Sanmait Kumari brought her up[3] after the death of her mother Chaiti Devi in 2006. She comes from a poor family and lives in a thatched hut. Since they do not have a TV at home, the family tried to watch her under–17 World Cup matches on a mobile phone, but bad network let them down. She learnt football playing with her brother during her childhood.[2][3]
She studied at Government Middle School, Jambahar and shifted to Ursuline Convent School in Simdega town from Class 6. In 2016, she joined a residential girls football training center in Hazaribag where she joined St. Columbus collegiate school.
Career
[edit]Kumari represented India in the 7th FIFA U–17 Women’s World Cup 2022 at Odisha.[4][5] The Indian team played three matches against USA, Brazil and Morocco in Group A and lost all their matches.[6][7]
She took part in the School Games Federation of India games, Subroto Cup and in 2019 played the under–17 All India Federation Cup.[3] She also played in the under–17 SAFF Women's championship in Bhutan in 2019-2020, under–19 SAFF Women's championship in Bangladesh in 2021 and under–18 SAFF Women's championship in Jamshedpur in 2022.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "AIFF Under 20 National Team - 2 Purnima Kumari". The AIFF. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ a b "सिमडेगा की बेटी पहुंची फीफा वर्ल्ड कप, मैच देखने के लिए परिजन के पास नहीं है टीवी". Zee News Hindi (in Hindi). Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d "U-17 WC footballer Purnima's family battles acute poverty". The Times of India. 17 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "India's squad for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 announced". The Indian Express. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ PTI (5 October 2022). "India announce 21-member squad for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "India at FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup: Meet the squad". ESPN. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "India U17 Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN (IN)". ESPN. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
External links
[edit]- Purnima Kumari at All India Football Federation.