Even as the FIFA ban dominated most Indian minds and timelines on Thursday, another chapter was added to the history of Indian football in the diplomatic municipality of Engomi, near Cyprus’s capital of Nicosia. At the stroke of 60th minute in the match between Apollon Ladies FC and SFK Riga, Manisha Kalyan came in as a substitute for the former at Makareio Stadium and became the first Indian footballer - among both men and women - to play in the top-most European club competition, the UEFA Champions League.
The closest that Indian football had come to such a feat was when Gurpreet Singh Sandhu represented Norwegian club Stabaek in the Europa League qualifying in 2016. But for Manisha, it was not the impending history for the nation but the personal milestone and earnestness to stay focused that topped the mind ahead of her debut.
