New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS): The Indian women's football team have impressed one and all with its performance in the COTIF Cup 2019 in Valencia (Spain) so much so that the tournament's President was moved to hand them a special third-placed trophy after the end of the tournament.
India played four matches in the COTIF Cup, out of which they won two (3-1 against Mauritania and 7-0 against Bolivia) and lost two (both 0-2 results against Villarreal and Spain U-19).
By dint of these results, the Indian eves got their best finish in the tournament -- the third spot, along with the Fair Play Award as well.
"Our performances were much better this time, and the organisers of the tournament took note of that," said India head coach Maymol Rocky.
"Even the two matches that we lost against Villarreal and Spain were close encounters, and they really appreciated the improvement we've shown in the last one year."
The massive improvement in performances since the 2018 edition of the tournament impressed COTIF President Eliseu Gomez Tormos so much so that he decided to present the Indian team with a new third-placed trophy, something that was never before awarded in the history of the women's edition of the tournament.
"The organisation has valued the immense progress made by the Indian Women's team over the last year. They have been a combative side with a warrior spirit that has made the fans here at COTIF fall in love with them," said Tormos.
"For all this, we have given them the prize for the national team that has behaved in the most sporting manner in the event, and I hope that they can come back here next year and repeat their performance once again in 2020. For all that India has offered us, and for being a revelation this year, I would like to thank them," he further stated.
The COTIF President had even decided to congratulate the India head coach personally after the tournament, for the prolific display that the girls showed on the pitch.
"We were awarded the fair play trophy, but there was no specific prize for the third-placed teams. However, the day after the last match, the local organisers presented us with a trophy, and the COTIF President also came over to congratulate us on the massive improvement we have shown," Rocky rounded off.