Yolanda de Sousa calls her a true champion. The first ever captain of an Indian football team should know.
In the dead of night when all players were deep in sleep - many of them snoring - Yolanda was woken up by a familiar sound in the run-up to the National Football Championship in Goa. It was in 1977 and the pre-tournament camp in the city was exhausting. After two training sessions a day, all that the players wanted to do was catch up on some sleep in the flats that they were housed. The players sprawled across the room, and Yolanda woke up to the sound of someone juggling the ball.
It was Rekha Karapurkar. Captain of the team and vice-captain just a year earlier in Sultanpur when Yolanda led the team. She would simply wake up in the middle of the night and with nothing to do, juggle the ball. On some nights when Yolanda woke up, they would spread across the room and play keep-ups. Both were so good that the ball hardly ever touched any of the other players who were sleeping in the same room.
"She was an exceptional player. She played football with the guys and did a pretty good job," said Yolanda.
Antonio Botelho, the Goa Football Association (GFA) secretary at that time, believes Rekha was a cut above the rest and, given a chance, could have proved herself in men's competitions as well.
"She was an outstanding footballer. She was fit to play in a men's team. Maybe not in the top league but any other lower division, she wouldn't be out of place. Her passing, tackling and delivery was immaculate," said Botelho.
It was this quality that endeared her to coach Joao de Mello and she was entrusted with the responsibility of captaining the team when the Nationals were held in Goa for the first time. She didn't disappoint, leading Goa to its first and only triumph.
"Rekha was everywhere on the field. Whether it was attack or defence, you could never say she wasn't around," recalled Juliana Gurjao, one of the two midfielders, along with Rekha, in the winning 4-2-4 formation.
Hailing from St Cruz, Rekha Kamat - before she married a Karapurkar - was an even better hand at volleyball. She played hockey too and could match the best in business in basketball as well. Athletics came naturally to her but it was football that remained close to her heart till she breathed her last on March 16, 2001.
"Mum had cancer but even during chemotherapy, she played football. When she was suffering, she kicked the ball around with me. Until she was physically unable, she played football," said son Gautam, who was only 13 when his mother and Goa's favourite footballer passed away.
Gautam is currently in Goa, unable to make up his mind whether he should relocate to Goa or continue in the United States where his parents had moved in 1977, soon after Goa won the Women's Nationals. Whenever he is in Goa and gets introduced to acquaintances as Rekha's son, the praises start to flow.
"I was told that the crowd would cheer her name. That she could almost score on demand," said Gautam, who was inspired by the sight of his mother playing football, sometimes barefoot with the Jamaicans in the US.
As Goa would testify, he wasn't alone. She inspired a generation.
In the dead of night when all players were deep in sleep - many of them snoring - Yolanda was woken up by a familiar sound in the run-up to the National Football Championship in Goa. It was in 1977 and the pre-tournament camp in the city was exhausting. After two training sessions a day, all that the players wanted to do was catch up on some sleep in the flats that they were housed. The players sprawled across the room, and Yolanda woke up to the sound of someone juggling the ball.
It was Rekha Karapurkar. Captain of the team and vice-captain just a year earlier in Sultanpur when Yolanda led the team. She would simply wake up in the middle of the night and with nothing to do, juggle the ball. On some nights when Yolanda woke up, they would spread across the room and play keep-ups. Both were so good that the ball hardly ever touched any of the other players who were sleeping in the same room.
"She was an exceptional player. She played football with the guys and did a pretty good job," said Yolanda.
Antonio Botelho, the Goa Football Association (GFA) secretary at that time, believes Rekha was a cut above the rest and, given a chance, could have proved herself in men's competitions as well.
"She was an outstanding footballer. She was fit to play in a men's team. Maybe not in the top league but any other lower division, she wouldn't be out of place. Her passing, tackling and delivery was immaculate," said Botelho.
It was this quality that endeared her to coach Joao de Mello and she was entrusted with the responsibility of captaining the team when the Nationals were held in Goa for the first time. She didn't disappoint, leading Goa to its first and only triumph.
"Rekha was everywhere on the field. Whether it was attack or defence, you could never say she wasn't around," recalled Juliana Gurjao, one of the two midfielders, along with Rekha, in the winning 4-2-4 formation.
Hailing from St Cruz, Rekha Kamat - before she married a Karapurkar - was an even better hand at volleyball. She played hockey too and could match the best in business in basketball as well. Athletics came naturally to her but it was football that remained close to her heart till she breathed her last on March 16, 2001.
"Mum had cancer but even during chemotherapy, she played football. When she was suffering, she kicked the ball around with me. Until she was physically unable, she played football," said son Gautam, who was only 13 when his mother and Goa's favourite footballer passed away.
Gautam is currently in Goa, unable to make up his mind whether he should relocate to Goa or continue in the United States where his parents had moved in 1977, soon after Goa won the Women's Nationals. Whenever he is in Goa and gets introduced to acquaintances as Rekha's son, the praises start to flow.
"I was told that the crowd would cheer her name. That she could almost score on demand," said Gautam, who was inspired by the sight of his mother playing football, sometimes barefoot with the Jamaicans in the US.
As Goa would testify, he wasn't alone. She inspired a generation.
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