Shillong, May 9: Six women footballers from across Garo Hills have earned their positions in the preparations for the 2027 National Games. They were selected on the basis of their performance at the trials held at the Chandmari Artificial Football Turf in Tura on Saturday.
More than 55 players from the five Garo Hills districts turned up for the trials organised by the Meghalaya Football Association (MFA), in collaboration with the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and the District Football Association (DFA).
The trials were overseen by five expert selectors from the MFA Women’s Committee.
The selected players chosen for further training include Bonkame Lamsa B. Marak from Jengjal Chiokgre, Dondime Domanchi M. Sangma from Mengkakgre, Norik G. Momin from Mendipather, Katchaan Chimik M. Sangma from Kharkutta, Dilchi G. Momin from Rongjeng, and Ajerik N. Marak from Dainadubi. Three players were picked from North Garo Hills, and one each from South West Garo Hills, East Garo Hills, and West Garo Hills.
For many of these athletes, this was a first opportunity to be scouted at the state level. The MFA said it brought the trials to Garo Hills because players from the region had not been able to participate in the Meghalaya Women’s League earlier.
Dipshon Ryntathiang, Convener of the MFA Women’s Committee, expressed his satisfaction with the turnout and performance, emphasizing the goal of recognizing and nurturing talent from the region for the national games.
The six players will now travel to Shillong, where they will stay for about a week and play alongside other selected women from across Meghalaya to assess their performance further.
The Tura trials are part of a larger statewide initiative. Once the scouting phase is complete, standout players chosen from all regions will converge in Shillong for final selection trials and an intensive training camp to determine the elite squad that will represent Meghalaya at the 2027 National Games, which the state is set to host.
