In 2020, Indumathi Kathiresan, a sub-inspector for Tamil Nadu police, was seen stationed on the empty streets of Chennai, checking people for masks and ensuring lockdown was strictly followed.
Three years later, the 28-year-old, on Wednesday, will return to Chennai under a new role – the captain of the senior Indian national team against Nepal in an international friendly.
The match will be historic for multiple reasons.
One, the senior women’s team has won played an international match in Chennai -- the last of which came as a loss to South Korea in the 2007 Olympic Qualifiers -- and secondly, the city has not hosted an international game since 2008.
The last international fixture played in Chennai was a 2-2 draw between India (men’s senior team) and Taiwan in a friendly.
Though it will not be the first time Indumathi will be wearing the captain’s armband, it will be her first international game at the port-city.
“I am playing for India for many years but this is the first time we are playing here in Chennai. Four people from Tamil Nadu (Karthika Angamuthu, Sowmiya Narayanasamy, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Indumathi Kathiresan) will be representing India tomorrow,” she told reporters before the match.
“I longed for the camps to be conducted in the state. Finally, it’s (matches) going to happen. I am so happy about it,” she added.
Daughter to daily wage workers, Indumathi is the only footballer in her family and has seen her love for the game earn her a degree and later on, the job of a police inspector.
“My parents are coolie workers. My coach, Mariyappan from Cuddalore, trained me. I got admission to college through my performance in my state matches. By playing state and national matches, I got free college admission,” she said.
Indumathi rose to prominence as a 21-year-old, becoming the architect of midfield attacks for Tamil Nadu at the Senior Women’s National Football Championship 2017-18. That was the only time the state won the championship in the tournament’s 32-year history.
She is one of the very few footballers to win three Women’s SAFF Championships, in 2014, 2016 and 2019, with her finishing the last edition as its joint-highest goal scorer (four goals).
With Ashalata Devi (29) – the permanent captain of Indian team – recuperating from a knee injury, the friendlies will be the perfect opportunity for the local girl to lead the Blue Tigresses to glory.
The city that saw her as a frontline worker, fearless in the face of a deadly pandemic, will expect to see its local girl fight with the same intensity as India looks for revenge against an opponent that eliminated it in the semifinals of the SAFF Women’s Championship, last year.
“We both are equal. Time and performance on the will pitch decide the winner,” said Indumathi.
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