Captain fantastic Sabina named player of the tournament

Bangladesh women’s football team captain Sabina Khatun has been named as the player of the tournament after leading her team to its maiden SAFF Women’s Championship triumph in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday.

Sabina, who didn’t score in the final but assisted one of the three goals Bangladesh scored against Nepal, is also the highest goal-scorer of SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 with eight goals.

Sabina is not the only player from the champion team to win an award for individual brilliance as goalkeeper Rupna Chakma was also named the goalkeeper of the tournament.

Rupna had kept a clean sheet in all four matches before the final. In the final, she conceded one goal but also made a number of crucial saves.

Sabina, who has played in all six editions of the SAFF Women’s Championship, has been the best player in Bangladesh’s women’s team for many years.

Before the tournament, Sabina was excited with the balance of her team and hoped to go all the way. The likes of Maria Manda, Krishna Rani Sarkar and Tohura Khatun didn’t let her down.

Sabina led the team from the front throughout the tournament, scoring two hattricks and a brace.

Sabina scored twice against the Maldives and scored hattricks against Pakistan and Bhutan. She didn’t get on the score sheet in the match against India but was a crucial presence in Bangladesh’s attacking third.