| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 February 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Jambahar, Simdega, Jharkhand, India | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Sethu | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Jharkhand | |||
| 2021 | Biratnagar Metropolitan City | ||
| 2024– | Sethu | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| India U17 | |||
| India U20 | |||
| 2025– | India | 8 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 April 2026 | |||
Purnima Kumari (born 10 February 2005)[1] is an Indian professional footballer from Jharkhand who plays as a defender for the Indian Women's League club Sethu and the India national football team. She has also represented Jharkhand in the senior national championships.
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Kumari is from Jambahar village, Thethaitanger block, Simdega district, Jharkhand.[2] Her father’s name Jeetu Manjhi and she has five sisters and a brother, Ranjit Manjhi, who is a daily wage worker. Her brother also runs a roadside cart to sell instant food. Her second eldest sister, Sanmait Kumari brought her up[3] after the death of her mother Chaiti Devi in 2006. She comes from a poor family and lives in a thatched hut. Since they do not have a TV at home, the family tried to watch her under–17 World Cup matches on a mobile phone, but bad network let them down. She learnt football playing with her brother during her childhood.[2][3]
She studied at Government Middle School, Jambahar and shifted to Ursuline Convent School in Simdega town from Class 6. In 2016, she joined a residential girls football training center in Hazaribag where she joined St. Columbus collegiate school.
Career[edit | edit source]
Kumari represented India in the 7th FIFA U–17 Women’s World Cup 2022 at Odisha.[4][5] The Indian team played three matches against USA, Brazil and Morocco in Group A and lost all their matches.[6][7]
She took part in the School Games Federation of India games, Subroto Cup and in 2019 played the under–17 All India Federation Cup.[3] She also played in the under–17 SAFF Women's championship in Bhutan in 2019-2020, under–19 SAFF Women's championship in Bangladesh in 2021 and under–18 SAFF Women's championship in Jamshedpur in 2022.[3] She made her senior India debut against Jordan at the Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium, Sharjah, UAE on 20 February 2025.[8]
In 2021, she played for the club Biratnagar Metropolitan City[9] in the 2021 season of the Nepal National Women's League.
Awards[edit | edit source]
Paying for Sethu FC in the Indian Women's League 2025, she bagged the Best Defender award.[10]
Career statistics[edit | edit source]
International[edit | edit source]
- As of 15 April 2026
| National team | Year | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2025 | 6 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "AIFF Under 20 National Team - 2 Purnima Kumari". The AIFF. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "सिमडेगा की बेटी पहुंची फीफा वर्ल्ड कप, मैच देखने के लिए परिजन के पास नहीं है टीवी". Zee News Hindi (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "U-17 WC footballer Purnima's family battles acute poverty". The Times of India. 17 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ "India's squad for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 announced". The Indian Express. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ PTI (5 October 2022). "India announce 21-member squad for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ "India at FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup: Meet the squad". ESPN. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ "India U17 Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN (IN)". ESPN. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ↑ "Senior India women produce a dominant display to tame Jordan in Sharjah opener". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ↑ "Nepal fall to India in SAFF U-18 Women's Championship opener". the-anfa.com. ANFA. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ↑ "List of all individual award winners from IWL 2024-25 season". Khel Now. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Purnima Kumari at All India Football Federation.