The walls of Kathmandu’s Dashrath Stadium came crashing down and a young footballer stared at imminent death.
Nizamabad native Guguloth Soumya was part of the India under-14 football team that was in the Nepali capital for the AFC Championship last Saturday when the severe earthquake struck.
“I never thought I would return. We were so frightened with the horrible scenes around. Everyone was running around for shelter as we felt the tremors,” said the 14-year-old, who at the time was warming up for the play-off game against Iran scheduled a couple of hours later.
Miraculous escape
“The moment we knew it was an earthquake we all rushed out. Luckily, none of us was injured. There were only a few bruises in our efforts to scramble to safety. The first thing we did was come into the open area nearby,” she told The Hindu after returning home on Monday.
“Fortunately, the team hotel where we stayed only suffered some cracks and only when we reached there our confidence was restored to some extent,” said the girl, who hails from the relatively obscure Kunepally village in Renjal mandal of Nizamabad district.
Waiting for kin
Sowmya is now waiting to meet her parents.
“I know what sort of mental agony they would have undergone but I will continue to play football and my dream is to play for India one day in the senior team,” signed off the spirited youngster who was received by Telangana Football Association Secretary G.P. Phalguna and office-bearers of Care Football Academy in Nizamabad where she trains.
