AFC Asian Cup: Brought up by grandmother, Manisa seeking to leave a mark

Defender Manisa Panna has had a tough life, losing her parents at a young age and moving away from her favourite sport before fighting her way back, with help from her grandmother, to represent India in the AFC Womens Asian Cup.Hailing from Dandiapali village near Rourkela in Odisha, the central defender has battled the odds before getting a chance to play for India, something that has made her entire village proud.It has not been an easy journey by any means.

Defender Manisa Panna has had a tough life, losing her parents at a young age and moving away from her favorite sport before fighting her way back, with help from her grandmother, to represent India in the AFC Women's Asian Cup.

Hailing from Dandiapali village near Rourkela in Odisha, the central defender has battled the odds before getting a chance to play for India, something that has made her entire village proud.

''It has not been an easy journey by any means. I've even had to stop playing football in my younger days. But I couldn't stay away from it for too long. I just wanted to do something,'' Manisa told the national federation's website. The continental tournament is scheduled to be held from January 20 to February 6 across three venues in Maharashtra. Manisa, who had started playing football at a relatively early age, suffered a major setback when she lost both her parents in her adolescence. It was under these circumstances that she had to move away from the sport, albeit for a while.

''It was a difficult time in my life. I could not play for some time, but once you don't play anymore, you realize how much the sport helps you stay on track in your life. Once I realized that I wanted to get back to the field again; I made something for myself by playing football,'' she said.

While football has helped Manisa overcome the terrible losses in her life, she has not always had the support of her neighbors in her endeavors.

''In the beginning, there was a mixed reaction from my neighbors and relatives, about me playing football. ''Not that everyone was against it, some did support me, but there were quite a few, who advised me to stay away from it.'' It was at this stage, that her grandmother and aunt came in to fully support her in her footballing journey.

''They never discouraged me from playing football. They told me to pursue whatever avenue interested me the most, and told me that they would always have my back, no matter what.'' Then, she started getting call-ups for the junior national teams – India U-17 and India U-19. She eventually broke into the senior national team in 2015.

''Once I started getting opportunities in the junior and senior national team, people started seeing my name in the papers, and those in our village would come and tell me that I've made our village proud, and that felt very good.

''Especially when it came from those who at first used to discourage me from playing.'' One person who has had a major impact on Manisa during the formative years of her life is her grandmother, who took the responsibility of bringing up Manisa and her brother.

''My grandmother is a very big inspiration. She always used to keep herself busy, just to be able to feed us three times a day. She was determined to take good care of us and ensure that we get the support to reach a certain level from where we could take care of ourselves,'' the 30-year-old said.

One of the highlights of Manisa's footballing career on the international level so far is winning the 2016 SAFF Women's Championship title.

However, the challenges coming up ahead are going to be different.

''We are all preparing hard for the AFC Women's Asian Cup. It's a special occasion because India will be hosting it, and the squad has a lot of belief in itself. India has been drawn in Group A, alongside Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23), and China (January 26). Manisa feels that though there will be tough competition to get into the quarter-finals, the Blue Tigresses believe that they can do it.

''We have a strong group to play against. Iran is a good side, and we have played against Chinese Taipei recently in a friendly (India won 1-0), which was a tough game for us. ''They play a lot of short passes with one or two touches, and we had to play as one unit to beat them. And then, of course, there's China, who is one of the best in Asia.'' ''But we are confident in our abilities. If we do well in the Group Stage and make the quarterfinals, then we stand a chance of qualifying for the World Cup, and that remains the long-term goal as of now,'' Manisa signed off.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)