One for the flight: Asheesh (left) and Kanchen en-route to Mongolia for an UEFA Invite
By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |
Sisters Asheesh Kaur Nanua and Kanchenjeet Kaur Nanua has been selected to join Malaysia’s women under-17 team now in Mongolia for a UEFA invitational tourney.
This is the first time the footballing sisters – Asheesh, 17, and Kanchen, 16, — will be donning the national jersey together.
The UEFA Assist Under-17 Tournament in Ulanbaatar starts today (May 21) and ends on May 29. Malaysia face Singapore in their opening match on Tuesday (May 24) before taking on Uzbekistan on Thursday (May 26) and host Mongolia on Saturday (May 28).
In 2018, then 13-year-old Asheesh was selected to join the Malaysian under-15 girls team for an international tourney in Hong Kong, making history as the first Sikh women player to don the junior national jersey.
At the national level, Steffi Sarge Kaur holds the distinction of being the first Sikh woman to don the national jersey. The Malaysian women’s international footballer and futsal player was part of the football team at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games and the national futsal team which won the bronze medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.
On her part, Kanchen got her first break in 2019 when she was selected for the U15 Malaysian women football team for the ASEAN football federation (AFF) 2019 tournament.
The sisters will also play for the Selangor state team in the Tun Sharifah Rodziah Cup 2022, which is the national women’s football tournament.
The UEFA Assist, launched in 2017, aims to enhance football development and increase solidarity to tackle the needs of confederations and national associations outside of Europe. In this tourney, Mongolia received a grant from the programme, and gets to invite three other nations for a tournament.
“It’s great exposure for the players,” the footballing sisters’ mother Jasbir Kaur told Asia Samachar.
Asheesh (left) and Kanchen with their younger sister and parents at the airport before leaving for Mongolia for the UEFA Invite U-17 women friendly
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