Anita kumari

Nongmeikapam Shibani Devi: Sreebhumi FC ended the defending champions, Odisha FC’s time in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) with a 3-0 victory at the Kalinga Stadium that condemned the hosts to relegation. Odisha needed to eke out a result to even stand a chance at staying up, and within the first half an hour their fate was sealed, courtesy of a Nongmeikapam Shibani Devi (10’, 18’, 32’) hat-trick.

This was perhaps the most brutal and clear reminder that time, and football waits for no one. This was the first time in Indian football that the defending champions of a league have been relegated. Despite the abjectly one-sided scoreline, it was Odisha who actually looked in the ascendancy in the first 10 minutes of the game, marshalling the ball neatly in midfield.

In the 10th minute, though, Sreebhumi’s scoring spree kicked off when Shibani picked up Anita Kumari’s cross outside the box and unleashed a right-footer towards the goal. The shot took a deflection before nestling in the back of the net.