For Harshika Jain, a 22-year-old footballer from Mumbai, receiving an offer to play in Europe was nothing short of a dream come true. She has now made history as the first Indian footballer to sign with a Romanian top-tier club, CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla.
Moving from India to play professional football at the European stage, Harshika is following in the footsteps of Bala Devi,
Manisha Kalyan and Aditi Chauhan. Her signing isn’t just about international firsts; it’s also one of persistence, late-night
training sessions, lockdown drills, and a young girl breaking into all-boys’ teams.
The move to Romania came through trial at Olimpia Gherla, where she impressed legendary coach Mirel Albon, the man behind Romania’s rise in women’s football. After 20 days of trial, the club offered her a contract. “It feels like family here,” Harshika told TOI. “And that’s important to me. I’m close to my family, and the club environment reflects that. They’ve welcomed me with open arms. ” Despite going global, her dream remains rooted in national colours. “Wearing India’s jersey, that’s the dream. Always has been.”
Harshika’s football journey began at school, where she could always be found on the football ground. And she could be spotted quite easily, too, as she would be the only girl training with boys. It was the same in her locality, where she would be the only girl training with boys. It was the same in her locality, where she would always have to play with the other boys as no girls joined it.
Having earned a spot in the first division Romanian club CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla, the 22-year-old Harshika Jain has also set her sights on fulfilling her dream of playing for the Indian team.
Harshika said “My ambition is to of course play for India and have the colours of the Indian flag on my chest when I play. That’s always been the dream and the ambition,” Harshika begun training with her new club, told PTI in an exclusive interaction on Monday.
“It feels like family here,” Harshika told The Times of India. “That’s really important to me. I’m very close to my family, and the club has welcomed me with open arms. It feels like home.”
“From Kozhikode to Romania. Best wishes to Harshika on her move to CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla. Go shine on the European stage,” Gokulam posted on social media.
While several Indian women have previously played for European clubs — Bala Devi with Rangers WFC, Aditi Chauhan with West Ham United WFC, and Manisha Kalyan with Greek club PAOK — Harshika’s signing marks a new milestone.
