Guwahati: Another good news for the sports enthusiasts of India from the North East. Two women football referees from Manipur and Meghalaya have made it to the coveted list of FIFA International referees.
Riiohlang Dhar, a woman constable from Meghalaya Police, and Ranjita Devi Tekcham, also a constable in Indian Reserve Battalion from Manipur, are among the four women referees selected from India on a recently released list. While Tekcham has been named as a referee, Dhar has been selected as an assistant referee for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup India 2022- Qualifier Group D in Lebanon from September 17 to September 23, 2021.
Both Dhar and Ranjita Devi Tekcham made it to the coveted list of elite FIFA International referees in 2018.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma took to Twitter to congratulate her, “Big congratulations to WC Riiohlang Dhar, 1st MLP, for qualifying as a #FIFA International Referee. She is among the 4 #women selected from India. Wishing her good luck and much more success!”
Talking to the media, Dhar said that they had to go through a very rigorous process to make it to the elite referees' list. Now again, all four selected referees have to go through a physical test before they make it to the match in Lebanon. Both Riiohlang Dhar and Ranjita Devi Tekcham had represented their home states in football tournaments before being selected as referees in 2018.
The other two women referees from India are Barman Kanika and Uvena Fernandes.
