Sajana Rana (born 13 June 1987) is a Nepalese women's

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently is part of the

Nepal women's national football team The Nepal women's national football team is controlled by the All Nepal Football Association and represents Nepal in international women's football competitions. The Women's Football Department has been developed to control and manage the women' ...

and plays as a futsal

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

New Radiant New Radiant Sports Club is a Maldivian professional football club based in Henveiru – Malé, Maldives. The club was founded on 19 August 1979 by Ahmed Waheed and his friend Ahammadhanik. New Radiant has won all domestic competitions bein ...

's women's team having previously played for the

APF Club Nepal A.P.F. Club (), commonly known as APF Club, is a professional multi-sports club based in Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal. The club is the sports wing of the Armed Police Force. History The APF Club was established on 24 October 20 ...

Club career

In 2013 Rana won the most valuable player award at the 15th edition of the women's Ncell Cup. As a prize she was gifted one Yamaha scooter. In 2015 it was announced that Rana would be moving to the Maldives to play

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

for

from March to April. In doing so Rana becomes the first ever Nepali women's footballer to play abroad. In the second game for her new club Rana scored twice to book her team's place in the regional tournaments quarter final. "I am enjoying it her in Malé. I scored two goals in our second match and I am determined to score goals un our very important match lining up," Rana told the press after the game.

International career

Rana made her debut for

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in the 2010 SAFF Women's Championship. In a friendly match against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Rana scored in the very first minute in what ended up being a historic 8–0 victory for Nepal. Rana came into the

2012 SAFF Women's Championship The 2012 SAFF Women's Championship is the 2nd SAFF Women's Championship since the first one in 2010. The competition is contested by the eight South Asian women football teams. India defended their 2010 title by defeating Nepal 3–1 in the final ...

caring a significant knee injury sustained in 14th edition of the women's Ncell Cup, yet she still managed to score three goals during the tournament, in an 8–0 win over

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and scored twice in a 7–1 win over

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Coming into the

2014 SAFF Women's Championship The 2014 SAFF Women's Championship was an association football tournament for women's national teams organised by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). It was the third edition of the tournament since the first one in 2010. The competition ...

Nepal were missing Jamuna Gurung, and it was Rana's job to support star striker

Anu Lama Anu Lama (Nepali:अनु लामा) (born 3 October 1987) is a Nepalese women's footballer who currently is the captain for the Nepal women's national football team and a forward for APF Club. Lama is currently the second highest internatio ...

. Rana herself scored two goals in another 8–0 victory over

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

as well as the second goal in the form of a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 2–0 win over Pakistan although in the same match she missed another penalty latter on in the game. In the semi-finals against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Rana scored yet another spot-kick as the only goal in a tight 1–0 win. The tournament would end bitterly for Nepal as they once again lost to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the final by a 6-0 scoreline.

References

1987 births Living people People from Syangja District Sportspeople from Gandaki Province Nepalese women's footballers Nepal women's international footballers Expatriate women's footballers in the Maldives New Radiant S.C. players Nepalese expatriate women's footballers Nepalese expatriate sportspeople in the Maldives Women's association football midfielders South Asian Games silver medalists for Nepal South Asian Games medalists in football {{Nepal-women-footy-bio-stub