Ashalata Devi, the 31-year-old footballer from Manipur, is set to make history by becoming the first Indian footballer to play 100 international matches. She debuted for India in 2011 against Bangladesh and will achieve this milestone at Kathmandu's Dasarath Stadium, where the Indian women's team captain will face Pakistan in her landmark game.

Ashalata stated on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website  - "I am excited and happy that I will play my 100th game against Pakistan. The focus, however, will be on winning all the games and taking the trophy back home. This is the main dream and motive for coming to Nepal," 

She further continued - "I am looking forward to all the matches in the championship because it is an extremely important tournament to us. We already suffered a setback in the last SAFF, but it will be different this time,". 

Ashalata Devi received her first national call-up in 2008 at just 15 years old, when she was selected to represent India in the U-17 team.

Praising the defender, the AIFF posted on the website, - "When she pulled on an Indian shirt for the first time ... in the pre-Olympics in Dhaka against Bangladesh in March 2011, few would have imagined that Ashalata Devi would take Indian women's football by storm in quite the way she has”.