Youngest player in Asian Cup, Shilky Devi eager to learn from senior team

Image courtesy: shilkyhemam/instagram

India’s Football Defender Shilky Devi, also the youngest player in the upcoming AFC Women’s Asia Cup, is curious to learn from the experience of playing with the senior team as she will become prepared at the U-17 FIFA World Cup.

The 16-year-old is one of the fifteen players in the Indian squad training under head coach Thomas Dennerby, all ageing below 25 at the AFC Asian Cup starting from Thursday. At present, Shilky is the only player from Manipur qualified to play in the U-17 FIFA World Cup held in India later this year.

Shilky Devi said that it was a very good learning experience for her and the other players who joined with her from the U-19 squad. The teenager is playing with the senior players and believes it is a great help to get ready for the U-17 World Cup.

“I hope to pass on this knowledge and experiences to my teammates at the U-17 World Cup and we can only learn from this. This experience will help me going forward”, said Shilky Devi to PTI.

She comes from a small village of Moirang in Manipur. She started playing at a young age and comes through the SAI Academy in Imphal. Silky said that early people used to tell her to concentrate on studies rather than playing football including her mother. But her father constantly supported her and loved to watch her play. On Jan 20, India starts their AFC campaign against Iran.