AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: After four years in charge of the Indian women's senior national team, head coach Maymol Rocky has stepped down from her role due to personal reasons.

Maymol, who took over the reins as head coach in 2017 after a stint as the Assistant Coach, led the team to a number of international glories and saw them progress tremendously as women's football continues to move forward together.

Speaking to www.the-aiff.com, she thanked the federation for their 'trust' in her abilities. "I sincerely thank the All India Football Federation for believing in me and the team for so many years. I would like to express my gratitude to Praful Patel-sir (President, AIFF), Kushal Das-sir (General Secretary, AIFF), Abhishek Yadav-sir (Deputy General Secretary & Director, National Teams, AIFF) and the entire staff at Football House for all their support,” she averred.

"I am very happy to see the progress we have made in the last few years. The facilities we got were always excellent and the support we got from the federation, Sports Authority of India (SAI), and the Government of Odisha has been the key to our success," Maymol added.

Mr. Kushal Das stated: "Maymol Rocky has expressed her inability to continue as the Head Coach of the Senior National Women’s Football Team owing to personal reasons. We accept her decision and thank her for her contribution to Indian Football. Our best wishes to her for her future endeavours."

A former India international player, Maymol termed her stint as Head Coach as the “best phase” of her career and praised the team's efforts during this time.

"If I look back, we did have our ups and downs but this was certainly the best phase of my career. The team has grown immensely from when I joined and I have also grown with the team. The experience that the players and I have got from the national team has been amazing. I am glad the team stood up to the expectations and the players always gave their best in every session and match we played," Maymol maintained.

The Indian Women's National Team created history in November 2018 by making it through to the second round of the Olympic qualifiers for the first time ever, and won the title at the SAFF Women's Championship in 2019 and the gold medal at the South Asian Games in Nepal.

"My most memorable match would be the final of the SAFF Championship in Nepal. The match was extremely tense and playing in front of a packed stadium filled with Nepal fans, the team showed great character and determination to clinch the victory. We had lost to them at our home tournament and to go and defeat them in the final was a great feeling," she recollected.

With India set to host the AFC Women's Asian Cup for the first time next year, Maymol expressed her best wishes to the team for the tournament.

"The AFC Asian Women's Cup 2022 is the biggest platform for our National Team and I am sure it will generate a lot of interest in women's football in India and will inspire future players, coaches, and many more people. I am confident that the players will rise to the occasion and give their all. I send my best wishes to the entire nation and the team for the competition and I will be there to cheer for them for sure," she said.

"I would like to express my best wishes to the next coach as well and will always be there for any kind of support and to help in any way I can. I have resigned but I will definitely return to coaching in the near future."