In Athens, Bentla will bend it for India

‘‘The greatness of the Games in itself is challenging and I am feeling the pressure,’’ says D’Couth. She will be the second Indian after Komaleeswaran Sankar, who refereed some men’s football matches in Sydney 2000, to officiate at this level. The Indian team had, of course, taken part in the 1956 Games.

‘‘All I aim to do is serve the game well,’’ says the Kerala-based D’Couth. And it’s virtually what she has been doing all her life. Having grown up in Bolgatti, an island off Kochi, she says, ‘‘football was the only entertainment, interest came naturally’’.

By 17, D’Couth had played as a left-winger, a midfielder and finally in the back-left. But it was only a year later that she came to know there was a women’s football league in the country. ‘‘I always wanted to learn more,’’ she says. ‘‘And my entire family, all nine of them, were very supportive.’’ D’Couth went on to play in three Asian Championships, the ’98 Bangkok Asiad and a junior invitational meet in Denmark, apart from making regular national appearances. But as her playing years drew to a close, she realised she wanted her association with the game to continue.

‘‘I heard about a referees’ clinic and thought I’d give it a shot,’’ says D’Couth. She topped the batch and, egged on by former FIFA referee Michael Andrews, began refereeing. Today, with just three years in the business, she has more than 20 international matches—including matches in Asian Championships, Asian Games and SEA Games—to her credit. D’Couth makes it seem easy, but it’s possible to gauge how demanding her chosen path is from the fact that India has just two woman football officials, both from West Bengal: Choiti Pal, a National-level referee, and Anamika Sen, an assistant referee.

‘‘Women’s football in India has a long way to go,’’ acknowledges D’Couth, who works as a lower division clerk at the Agriculture College in Kochi. ‘‘Football just does not appeal to women in India.’’ So what makes her different? ‘‘Eagerness, self-belief and a family that never shot down my aims,’’ D’Couth says. And the huge boost that comes when her work is appreciated by her peers.