The date 24th is quite important for Indian footballer Harshika Jain – she was born on December 24 and on the same date in July she signed for a Romanian top division and became the first player from the country to do this.
«Drawing on the 24th was also lucky for me, so it was a good opportunity. Hopefully my jersey number will be,» said Harshika, who wrote a one-year contract, said Sports star.
The Club-ACS ATLETIC OLIMPIA GERLA-OFFIDENT as fifth in the 2024-25 season at the end of the regular season of the Superliga Feminina.
It is about three weeks ago that Harshika has been to Olimpia Gherla, including a 20 -day trial period. And she has already started noticing grim differences between club football in Romania and India.
A change in approach: Harshika, who grew up in Mumbai, has already started to notice differences in the way football is viewed in Indian and Romania. | Photocredit: special arrangement
A change in approach: Harshika, who grew up in Mumbai, has already started to notice differences in the way football is viewed in Indian and Romania. | Photocredit: special arrangement
«The fitness levels of the players here are very different from what it is in India, and the intensity is also very different. It is the first time I have had such a season with a club,» explained the 22-year-old.
«The way in which the coach and players understand the game is very different. You have to be fast and they understand that technical skills can be developed. But your fitness must be constant.»
A combined effort
Harshika grew up in Mumbai and always had a tendency to sport. And football turned out to be her pet sport.
During her school days she was discovered by Coach-Behen friend Varin Mehta, who traveled with her father to the municipality of Gherla to help her settle in the Southeast European country.
Related: Gokulam Kerala’s Harshika Jain is moving to Europe – here she will play
«Varin was a coach at my school. I was the only girl who used to play with the boys. He started a summer camp, who used to be at night. I lived that and he saw that I had the capacity, the ability and passion for football. He said,» If you stay with me, I will make you a professional player, «Harshika said.
Stars behind the screen: Varin (left), who had previously played in Europe, is one of the most important individuals who cared for Harshika (right) before switching her to Europe. | Photocredit: special arrangement
Stars behind the screen: Varin (left), who had previously played in Europe, is one of the most important individuals who cared for Harshika (right) before switching her to Europe. | Photocredit: special arrangement
More than ten years ago, Varin played for about two and a half years for the reserves of the Belgian side of Royal Antwerp. He also had a short period in a club in Denmark before contract issues were back to India.
«A very good friend advised me to use the knowledge I have gained by playing abroad and introducing coaching,» reminded Varin, who now has an AFC A license, remembered.
It was because of connections he made at the wedding of a good friend and former Aizawl player, Andrei Ionescu, that he could land this opportunity for Harshika.
«They sent her resume and videos to the club’s coach. He said he would not mind seeing her live if she was willing to come. So we reached Romania on June 30,» Varin said.
Harshika reached Europe before the processes in Olimpia Gherla after Ionescu, together with his friends Eduard Plavicheanu and Elis Bakaj – a former Albanian international – were so kind to prepare her for processes.
They also arranged for training sessions for her at the Steaua Stadium, the home of the Bucharest -based club CSA Steaua Bucuresti.
One dream realized, another to go
Before the chapter of European football, Harshika spent a few years with the Indian Women’s League (IWL) side Gokulam Kerala and won the IWL title in the 2022-23 season.
Although Harshika did not play too many games for Gokulam in the IWL, it was in this Kozhikode club that ended her dream to play with Sabitra ‘Samba’ Bhandari – Nepal National Team Captain and Highste Goalscorer – as part of the team.
Sharing phase a star: Harshika (left) poses with the Indian Women’s League trophy with Sabitra Bhandari. After Gokulam Kerala won the title in 2023. | Photocredit: special arrangement
Sharing phase a star: Harshika (left) poses with the Indian Women’s League trophy with Sabitra Bhandari. After Gokulam Kerala won the title in 2023. | Photocredit: special arrangement
«I had seen her play live when I was at Kenkre FC. I was full of awe and looked at a girl who scored so many goals and was so great,» said Harshika – who also looks up to Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr and Ashalata Devi – said.
Just like Sabitra, Harshika has followed the example from Kerala to Europe. But, unlike the Nepal star, one thing has been missed so far: playing for the national team.
«The chances (of making the India team) get higher as soon as you go abroad, because the value of a player goes up than back in India,» she said.
This year India qualified for the first time for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and defeated Thailand with a higher -ranked Thailand. It will be confronted with Vietnam, Chinese Taipei and Japan in March in Australia.
«Complete for the AFC (Asian Cup) is huge. I would like to participate because my dream was always to play for the Indian team. One thing has already been done, that is to play abroad,» she said.
The time of Harshika will now be largely taken over by a rigorous preseason in Olimpia Gherla prior to a campaign where a historic UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification remains a possibility.
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