Jyothi Chauhan etched her name in the history of Indian football by becoming the first player from the country to score in a European Final for Dinamo Zagreb.
She scored in the 48th minute of the finals of the Croatia Women’s Cup match to put her side ahead. However, despite her valiant efforts, Dinamo lost 3-2 to ZNK Split with Aida Hadzic scoring a brace for the victors.
🎥 | WATCH : Jyoti Chouhan becomes the first Indian to score in an European final, as she scores in the finals of Croatian women's cup for her club Dinamo Zagreb, unfortunately her team lost the finals by 3-2. #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/bgUAe9eewX
— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) June 5, 2023
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Five interesting facts about Jyothi Chauhan
1. Chauhan hails from Sardapur, Madhya Pradesh, and is the third of five daughters. After her father passed away, the going got even tougher for the player.
“That time was really hard. My father always encouraged me to play football, but after he passed away, there was no support. My neighbours discouraged me and said a girl shouldn’t be playing sports.
The only reason I kept playing was because my mother backed me. She would work in the fields to support our family, but she always told me I could play,” she told Sportstar.
“When I started, I used to play barefoot. When I told my coach that I wanted a pair of boots, he told me I could only get them if I worked harder. I had to run more and train more and then maybe I’d get a pair. I got my first pair only when I was in class 5. There was a hostel for boys who played football and one day all of them got a pair. There was an extra pair that had got left over.
"It was one size bigger for me – a size 5 – but they were special for me,” she says. “I took good care of them and used them until I was in class 7. Then I played really well at a tournament and the coach bought me another pair," she further revealed.
2. Chauhan has also scored a hat-trick while playing for Dinamo against ZNK Agram, which made her the first Indian to score a hat-trick in Europe.
🎥 | WATCH : Jyoti Chouhan becomes the first Indian to score in an European final, as she scores in the finals of Croatian women's cup for her club Dinamo Zagreb, unfortunately her team lost the finals by 3-2. #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/bgUAe9eewX
— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) June 5, 2023
3. The player has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb and was their first foreign player ahead of this season.
4. Chauhan had appeared for a trial in Rangers WFC, Marbella FC, Western Sydney Wanders FC and Melbourne Victory FC before finally she was selected and offered a professional contract by Dinamo Zagreb.
5. The former Gokulam Kerala player has scored 10 goals in 18 matches in the Croatian Women’s First Football League and hopes that she would be offered an extension by the club.
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