India footballer now runs a tea stall in Jalpaiguri

Jalpaiguri: A woman footballer, who represented the country 10 years ago, is now running a roadside tea stall in Jalpaiguri district.

Kalpana Roy, 26, also coaches around 30 boys and trains them twice a day in order to keep herself fit, as she still nurtures the dream of playing again.

Kalpana’s stint as a footballer was cut short in 2013 after she suffered a serious injury in her right leg, during a match in the Women’s League, which is conducted by the Indian Football Association.

“It took me about a year to recover. I got no financial help for the treatment from anyone. From then on, I am running the tea stall,” Kalpana told PTI.

Her father used to run the tea stall but he is now suffering from old age ailments.

She said, “I was contacted for trial for the senior national side but financial constraints forced me to stay back. I do not have a place to stay in Kolkata. Besides, if I leave, who will look after the family? My father is not well now.”

Kalpana is the youngest of five sisters, four of whom are married.

One of them stays with her. Their mother died around four years ago.

The footballer, who used to play as a forward, did not marry as she has to look after her father and other members of the family.

Kalpana, who played four international matches as an under-19 footballer in 2008, now starts practising with the 30 odd boys in the morning and opens the tea stall around 10 am.

She closes the shop at 4 pm, goes for two hours’ practice and reopens the shop after coming back.

“The clubs for which the boys play pay me '3,000 per month. That money is also important to me,” Kalpana said.

Kalpana said she is fit enough to play at the senior level and also experienced enough to coach.

“I am confident that I can contribute to the game in both ways. All I need is a job so that I do not have to worry for the family’s requirements,” she said.

If anyone is interested, Kalpana said she can also set up a girls’ team taking players from north Bengal.

“We have plenty of talents but no infrastructure,” Kalpana, who was also a member u-17 and u-19 sides of the Bengal team, lamented.