Football
India player Yumnam Kamala Devi retires after AFC Cup heartbreak
India's FIFA World Cup dreams were snuffed out after several players tested positive for Covid-19 and were forced to withdraw from the Asian Cup 2022.
Indian midfielder Yumnam Kamala Devi has announced her retirement through a social media post.
In her Instagram post, Kamala said that announcing her retirement from professional football was a hard decision for her. Yumnam also thanked her parents, her first football coach Oja Biren and her local community for their constant support. She also thanked all her national and club teammates and coaches.
Yumnam Devi is a fan-favourite and has helped the Indian women's football team with her excellent contribution to the game.
Hailing from Imphal, Manipur, Yumnam made her senior team debut in 2010, where she was made to play the role of an attacking midfielder. She was a part of the Indian team that won the SAFF Women's Championships and South Asian Games in 2010, 2012 and 2014. She was also awarded Best Player of the Final in the 2012 SAFF tournament.
In the 2014 Asian Games, Yumnam scored five goals in India's opening match against the Maldives. Again in 2016, she was the top scorer in the 2016 South Asian Games.
In 2016, Yumnam was signed by Eastern Sporting Union to play in the inaugural season of the Indian Women's League. Under former Indian footballer and coach Oinam Bembem Devi, the team won the first title of the league. Yumnam scored a total of 15 goals in 10 games and was the joint top-scorer of the tournament alongside Sanju Yadav.
Yumnam was also awarded the AIFF 2017 Women Footballer of the Year.
Yumnam was also part of the Gokulam Kerala FC team that won the IWL in 2020, who later qualified for the AFC Women's Club Championship, becoming the first Indian team to qualify for the event.
We thank Yumnam Devi for her contribution to the game and best wishes for her future endeavours.