NEW DELHI: The Indian trio of Jyoti Chauhan, MK Kashmina and Kiran Pisda played decisive roles in ZNK Dinamo Zagreb clinching the Croatian Women's Football Cup, the club's maiden silverware at the top echelons of the country's football.
Kashmina, the 25-year-old midfielder from Manipur, turned out to be the cynosure of all eyes at the SRC Mladost ground in the picturesque town of Cakovec, as her successful conversion broke the deadlock after their summit clash against ZNK Osijek went into sudden death.
Kashmina calmly scored the final spot-kick to help the Croatian capital side win 5-4 on penalties after both teams were locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
It was a sensational victory against a powerhouse club like Osijek, who are record 19-time champions of the Croatian Women's Football Cup. They had been invincible throughout this season until going down to Dinamo in the final on Saturday.
ZNK Dinamo Zagreb have been a haven for Indian women footballers over the last couple of seasons. It began with Jyoti and Soumya Guguloth, in 2022, and they were soon joined by winger Kiran and Kashmina.
"The way we won this Cup was special. Our club had never won it before, and the manner in which we won it right at the end, simply makes it all the more memorable," Kashmina told the-aiff.com.
"I've scored a few goals in the IWL as well, but winning here in Croatia, with the three of us playing an important role in the team, it really feels like we have created history for our club."
While Kashmina came on from the bench in the final, Jyoti and Kiran played the full game. Both Jyoti and Kashmina had scored one each in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
This is the second season when ZNK Dinamo Zagreb made it to the final of the tournament. They lost the final 2-3 to ZNK Split last season. Jyoti had scored in that final.
"Winning the Croatian Women's Football Cup is a huge achievement for us all.
"Not only is it the first time our club has won it, but what makes this win even better is that we had lost the final last season, and now have come back to win our first title," said Jyoti, a striker, who comes from Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.