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Odisha FC Women (OFC Women), weeks after coming into existence, have already acquired the services of the Indian national team's star forward Pyari Xaxa ahead of the upcoming season, the club announced on Monday. The local girl is the first player to be unveiled by the women's team of the Indian Super League club.
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OFC Women will participate in the next Odisha Women’s League, hoping to win the tournament and qualify for the Indian Women's League (IWL) through the State Qualifiers. The Kalinga Warriors also announced former Sethu FC gaffer Crispin Chhetri as their head coach. The addition of Pyari will now give them an added edge in attack on the way to their first IWL.
In the recently concluded IWL season, Odisha Sports, powered by the 25-year-old, finished fifth in the standings. Pyari bagged 12 goals in 11 appearances for the Bhubaneswar-based club.
Sharing his elation about landing the fan-favorite player, Club President Raj Athwal stated in a statement on Monday:
“We are thrilled with Pyari joining us at OFC Women for the coming season. With Pyari, the club has secured an important player not just for the team but for all the girls in Odisha who have a young icon to aspire to. We are excited by the prospect of her playing for OFC Women and wish her all the best.”
Pyari Xaxa rose through humble beginnings to reach the national side
Born in Jhartarang, a village in the Sundergarh district of Odisha, Pyari had the ambition to represent India from the very beginning. She made her international breakthrough with the U-19 National Team in the AFC U19 campaign in 2014.
After her performances in the tournament, the young forward received the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year award in 2015. She was also part of the team that won the gold medal at the South Asian Games 2016 in Shillong.
In club football, Pyari began her footballing career at local club Kumarmunda. She signed for the Rising Student Club team from Odisha in 2016 and went on to win the IWL in 2017-2018. After representing Odisha Police and Sports Odisha previously, Pyari will be spearheading the Odisha FC attack.
Recently, the Odisha-born forward opened the scoring for the Blue Tigresses against the United States Women's Under-23 team in their final game of the Women's Under-23 3-Nations tournament.
