Moushumi Murmu is the only footballer from Bengal to have ensured a berth in the Indian women's football team for the forthcoming Pink Ladies Cup, starting on 20th February in Sharjah UAE.

Before her second India representation, the 19-year-old striker has set a goal. That is to take her performance to the next level so that the scouts, coming with participating teams get impressed and give her an offer to join the respective team in future.

After a week’s preparatory camp at SAI ground in Andaman the team have returned to Bangalore on Monday and will be flying for Sharjah on Tuesday. 

Moushumi who has been playing for Sreebhumi SC in the ongoing elite Indian Women's League (IWL) revealed while speaking to Parallel Sports from Bangalore over the phone, "When I was playing for clubs only I used to dream of representing Bengal and then India. I have represented Bengal. I also have represented India twice in the senior level and once in the junior level competition. Now my goal is to get an offer from a foreign team and any international tournament can be the ideal platform to fulfill the desire." 

Moushumi comes from a 'sports' family. That is why, she always had support from her father, Sujit Murmu who despite being a sharecropper has toiled hard throughout his life to provide the needs that helped Moushumi to continue playing. She also got tremendous support from her elder brother Subrata Murmu who is a professional footballer and her mother Arati Murmu who was once an athlete. 

The striker sounded inspired by the phone calls she received from her family members on Monday after being selected for the Indian team. "Everybody is extremely happy with the news. They asked me to set the focus only on my performance and their advice, especially my mother’s words are inspiration before this crucial tournament,” claimed Moushumi. 

Indian women's team will face strong teams like Jordan in their opening group league match on 20th February, then against Russia on 23rd February, and against South Korea on 26th February.

An ardent fan of Brazilian striker Neymar, Moushumi sounded cautious while stating, “I know we will have to face all the strong teams in the tournament. Still, I feel we will not give up.”