Football: India’s Jyoti Chouhan renews contract with Croatia’s WFC Dinamo Zagreb for a second season

Mumbai: The first Indian woman player to score a hat-trick in top-flight European football, Jyoti Chouhan has renewed her contract for another season with the Croatian club WFC Dinamo Zagreb.

Jyoti Chouhan came into the limelight when she entered the history books as the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick in European top-flight football after her exploit for WFC Dinamo Zagreb against ZNK Agram in the Croatian league.

She has been performing well at the club and the contract renewal with WFC Dinamo Zagreb came as a combination of both her international performance and her performance at the Elite Trials held in June 2023. The footballer has already reached Croatia and will be joining training with the team.

The contract renewal came through after her continued good performances during the second edition of the Elite Women’s Trials, organised by the Women in Sports Forum in association with the AMPL Foundation & Football Players’ Association of India.

Jyoti was first scouted by the club in the first edition of the trials held in June 2022.

The second edition of ‘Women in Sports Elite Football Trials’ witnessed 27-woman footballers undergoing trials for five Australian clubs and two European clubs, the organisers of the trials informed in a release on Friday.

Head coaches of Western United FC Melbourne, Adelaide United FC, Perth SC, WFC Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia and Marbella FC of Spain had come down to AIFF’s National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata at the end of June to conduct the trials, the release informed.

Talking about the same, an excited Jyoti Chouhan said, “I am delighted to join back WFC Dinamo Zagreb for another season and hope to give my best for the club. Last season was a learning one and eye opener for me while this season I am looking to do my best to take the team higher up the table and push for glory.”

Marija Margareta Damjanovic, Head Coach & Sports Director, ZNK Dinamo Zagreb feels that with all the hard work Jyothi had put in at the club and her historical hattrick and many other goals she has scored for WFC Dinamo Zagreb they would definitely want to continue to support her in her journey as a footballer.

“I am very pleased to see Jyoti being called up for the National camp after her performance at Dinamo last season,” he said.

Sanaya the founder of Women in Sports, who organised the trial. says, “This is exactly what we aim to achieve in Women in Sports by having Indian sportspeople play at the highest level they can. The more Jyoti achieves the more doors she will open for other girls to play in Europe and thus improve the level of football in our country and our national team as well.”

–IANS