Introduction

In June 2003 Manipur beat Bengal 2-0 in the 11th Women's National Football Championship to clinch the title. The newspapers reported it as a straightforward affair. Manithombi Devi and Sakhitombi Devi were the goalscorers in the 5th and the 50th minutes and while The Hindu newspaper noted that ‘in Alpana Seal Bengal had a gifted midfielder who single-handedly tried to control the proceedings’ (The Hindu 25/06/2003) overall it felt that this was ‘to no avail against the nimble-footed Manipuris’. Indeed, a little research shows that Manipur had strolled the competition. Over the course of the four games in the competition they had scored nine goals and conceded only once. A longer perspective still on this game further reinforces the impression that Manipur were deserved champions. Since the competition began they had won nine of the eleven trophies and had beaten Bengal in the final in each of those nine victories. 2003 was their sixth Championship in a row and was perhaps their most remarkable. The date of the competition clashed with the Asian Football Confederation's Women's Championships and eleven Manipuri players had travelled to Thailand with the Indian international squad. Many of the Manipuri team were thereforerelative newcomers and A. Sakhitombi Devi, the hero of the final who set up the first goal and scored the second, was making her debut for the state team.