Rupna Chakma was a midfielder in her early days.
Then she switched position after moving to a new school.
Now she has become not only the best female goalkeeper of Bangladesh, but also in South Asia at the age of only 19.
The girl from Rangamati proved her worth in two Saff (South Asian Football Federation) competitions in the space of only five months, first with the senior team and most recently with the U-20 side, where on both triumphant occasions she was adjudged the best performer between the posts.
Golam Rabbani Choton, women's national team head coach for around 13 years, admitted to Dhaka Tribune that Rupna is the best female goalkeeper the country has ever produced.
From midfield to goal post
Rupna was born in Naniarchar upazila of Rangamati.
She attended a nearby school and participated in the Bangamata primary school football tournament as midfielder.
Local coach Shanti Moni Chakma, who trained all five footballers of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the historic Saff Championship winning squad, discovered her talent during a regional match.
He, along with the help of a school teacher named Bir Sen Chakma, failed to persuade Rupna to join their Mogachhari school in Kawkhali upazila in the first two attempts due to lack of interest from parents.
A relative of Bir Sen was Rupna's neighbor upon whose insistence she was finally transferred to Mogachhari.
She started staying at the house of another school teacher who also bore her expenses.
Shanti Moni soon realized that Rupna would be better as goalkeeper and shared the idea which convinced her to change playing role.
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“I advised her to play as goalkeeper because in this position we were facing crisis in the country. She agreed easily. She was also interested and gave it importance,” Shanti Moni told Dhaka Tribune.
After that, she mainly carried on between the sticks but on rare occasions, she also played in her previous midfield role.
The Bangladesh Football Federation coaches however, picked her for the women's camp as goalkeeper in 2016 and since then, she hasn't looked back.
The hunger to get better
Rupna showed maturity beyond her age in two recent competitions, and proved to be extremely reliable.
Bangladesh leaked only one goal in the Saff Championship 2022 in Nepal so it was no surprise to see her claim the best goalkeeper of the tournament accolade.
She also kept three clean sheets in a row in the Saff U-20 Championship this month, and conceded only once throughout the meet to emerge as the best again.
Every time the ball came towards goal, she read instantly what would happen next and whom she will pass the ball forward to start a quick counter attack.
“I used to think who would be better to deliver the pass to before the ball arrived in my gloves. After practicing over and over, it has become a habit,” the Bashundhara Kings goalie told Dhaka Tribune.
She can also kick the ball to the halfway point without much effort that it makes one wonder.
“It is also because I practiced it many times. It feels good when the ball finds my attacking teammate,” said Rupna.
What goes through her mind while facing an opponent player in one-on-one situation?
She replied, “There was a time I feared such a situation but it improved after playing matches. Now I don't fear. If I can make saves things get easier for others.
“I feel nervous after conceding a goal. But it's no longer a problem if we score too. It feels very good when we get the goals. Sometimes, I wish I could celebrate with teammates but I can't.”
She added that she started to like goalkeeping soon after switching playing position and never wanted to move back to midfield again.
Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker is her favorite netminder who she tries to follow.
“I want to hold onto this performance and try to get even better in the coming days,” she said.
Praise from coaches
“Her specialty is that she has tremendous mental strength,” Choton said about Rupna.
“She always likes to work hard and want to take on challenges. Her skill in catching, dealing with opponents, positioning sense and one-on-one situation is fantastic.”
Choton also said Rupna has taken herself to a new height after the last two competitions.
Before that, she was a little nervous but overcame those with strong will power.
“She is the best ever female goalkeeper of Bangladesh. She has got almost everything. Others are taller but they can learn from her. She has a bright future,” said Choton.
Rupna's first goalkeeping coach Shanti Moni however, didn't hesitate to say what he expects from her.
“I told her before she joined the BFF camp that she could become Asia's best. I hope she will achieve more success and play for a foreign club one day,” he said.
