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The year 2023 has been a tremendous year for 29-year-old midfielder Indumathi Kathiresan. She has established herself as one of the best footballers in the country in recent years. Her fresh move to Odisha FC from Champions Gokulam Kerala this season is seen by many as the final piece of solving the club's Indian Women's League (IWL) puzzle.
The serial winner picked up her first trophy of the year, lifting the IWL with Gokulam Kerala FC in May. She was awarded the Hero of the League as well. She followed it up by leading Tamil Nadu to her second Senior National Women's Football Championship in Amritsar, scoring the winner in the final in June.
Soon, National duty came calling. She started all the games for India in the Asian Games in China and the Second Round of the Olympic Qualifiers in Uzbekistan. She established herself as one of the first names on coach Thomas Dennerby's team sheet.
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"Last year mere liye mast year tha! [It's been the best year in my career so far]," 'Indu', as her friends and fans call her, exclaimed with a big grin as she sat down for an interview with Sportskeeda.
The midfield maestro spoke about the ongoing season with the Juggernauts. She shed light on how she juggles football and her job as a Sub-inspector for Tamil Nadu Police, the evolution of Women's Football in India, and more.
Here are the excerpts from the conversation:
Q: Not only did you join a new team in Odisha FC but you were made the captain too. How has the experience been so far?
Indumathi: It has been great at Odisha FC so far. I'm very pleased at having joined such a great club and it was a huge moment for me to be handed the captaincy in my first season.
Q: How do you manage to balance your job in the police force and playing football at such a high level?
Indumathi: It is pretty tough. Since I have gotten this job, I need to do it too. This has resulted in my practice time being shortened. I have to attend camps there and then get back to my football. It takes a toll on my endurance as I need to recover it every time. But it's okay, it's been around 7-8 years now that I have had this job so I have habituated myself to balancing the two.
Q: Last year IWL was conducted in poor conditions. Do you think they have improved this year?
Indumathi: Yes, there's been a lot of improvement. Just like the men, we too have the home and away format now. Last year too the pitch and the stadium were fine, but there were problems with the timing of the tournament and the food. There haven't been any issues this season, I'm sure things will develop further in the coming years.
Q: How has it been like working under Crispin Chhetri?
Indumathi: It's been very good. He has been preparing us technically and tactically for each game separately. Hopefully, we can translate that onto the pitch in the coming games.
"Lot of improvement still needed at grassroots level" - Indumathi on how Women's Football can grow further in India
Q: You've been playing for India for almost ten years now. How has the growth been in women's football in the past decade?
Indumathi: There has been a whole lot of improvement. We can see how the National Team has grown both technically and tactically. Our passing in particular has improved by leaps and bounds, our confidence has been boosted as well. In the past, our girls didn't go abroad to play. Now many of them are signing for foreign clubs and showcasing their football there. I'm sure we'll keep growing like this.
We are also seeing a lot of progress at the grassroots levels which wasn't prioritized before. A lot of academies are now there for young girls. We still need a lot of improvement in this area.
Q: Odisha are the favourites to win the IWL this season, do you think this adds more pressure to the team?
Indumathi: I don't think there's pressure. All the teams share the same goal of winning. If we work hard, we will automatically find motivation. We aren't pressurizing ourselves just to win, wins will come if we put in the hard work.
Q: The IWL is being played in a home-away format this season. Are you excited to go to different cities and play your football?
Indumathi: Yes, we are very excited. We have been seeing ISL (Indian Super League) teams playing in different cities before. We were also wondering whether we would get the same opportunities. This is very good for us. Although we are yet to play outside Bhubaneshwar, we are looking forward to going outside and playing matches.
Q: What is the captain's message to the Odisha FC fans?
Indumathi: Just like you guys have been supporting the boys, support us girls as well. We will be improving a lot in the future. If you come to see us play, you will see how we can perform!
2024 can be another big year for Indu with a potential AFC Women's Champions League on the cards if Odisha FC go all the way in the ongoing season.
While it would be dumb to count out Gokulam Kerala with their obvious exploits of the past, the air seems to crackle with change this year, and Indumathi can just prove to be that gust of resilience that the Juggernauts had been lacking.
