A thinking woman’s game

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This article was published 21/09/2022 (1253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dalima Chhibber wants to finish her University of Manitoba Bisons career on the pitch before she makes her mark on the world.

Chhibber, 25, is only in her second year of eligibility with the Bisons’ women’s soccer team, but plans for this season to be her last with the program. She’s nearly completed the mission she undertook when she moved to Winnipeg in 2019.

A native of New Delhi, India’s capital that is home to more than 16 million people, Chhibber chose the University of Manitoba to attain a master’s degree in sports psychology while continuing to play soccer.

She wasn’t just any international signing for The Herd.

Chhibber is widely recognized as the face of women’s soccer in India, captaining the country’s senior women’s national team and, at one point, the U19 squad, among others. She’s played in 47 international matches, starting when she was 18 years old.

Chhibber’s early success makes it easier to appreciate her dilemma when deciding whether to return to the U of M in 2021 when sports resumed following the pandemic-induced hiatus.

Right around the time the star was set to fly back to Winnipeg for the school year, India was participating in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the biggest international tournament in Asia that, among other things, helps determine a country’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup.

It was Chhibber’s first opportunity to play in the event, and she wasn’t going to miss it. Fearing a third wave in the pandemic might strike Manitoba’s capital, she stayed put.

“If COVID hit again and I wasn’t able to travel back, I might just miss out on one of the biggest opportunities of my career,” Chhibber said.

A year later, she made it her goal to return for a final season with the Bisons, rather than stay home and leave the team without a proper goodbye. With more knowledge under her belt, she not only wants to make a difference on the pitch but also to blur the line between sports and psychology wherever she goes.

“I feel like there’s a lot at play and mental health is just such an interesting topic, sports psychology in general, because we don’t realize it in our daily lives and being an athlete, how much it takes to keep pushing through the limits physically and how much of a toll it takes psychologically,” she said.

“At times, I feel like if I would have had that kind of professional help, my performances, my perspective toward certain things or approaching certain games would have been different.”

Chhibber explained how lucky she’s been to have a family that’s provided unwavering support to a woman pursuing soccer as a professional career, adding mental health is still a taboo topic in India, even if the pandemic changed many people’s perspectives.

“Whenever I go back to my country, (I want to) introduce sports psychology as a very important concept because we don’t have many sports psychologists working back home. And I know there are a lot of professional athletes back home, as well, who’ve had really bad struggles and they haven’t been taken well,” she said.

“I want the world to recognize that sport and psychology are not two different areas. They are very much one aspect that is very important to sport.”

On the pitch, Chhibber is still taking names for the Bisons, who sit at 3-3 on the young season. The centre-back continues to flaunt her experience and versatility, aligning at three different positions for The Herd this season, including midfield and winger.

After going a year without her talents, she’s been a difference maker for Vanessa Martinez Lagunas’ club.

“The growth that she has had… once she came back, you see that experience under her belt,” said Martinez Lagunas, in her 10th year heading the program. “She’s a leader, she’s a vocal leader, she’s an experienced player. Players look up to her.”

Martinez Lagunas continued to gush about her star player, saying aside from her physical gifts — Chhibber can deliver a ball from more than 70 yards away — her distribution, IQ and personal qualities have all been a weapon for the squad.

“She’s somebody that, on and off the field, she shines.”

It’s been a long road for a player who first came to Winnipeg at 21. Chhibber described 2019 as an “entire shift,” from a new culture to finding her own home, to meeting her teammates, and even something as small as being away from her mom’s home-cooked meals.

“The first time she came, it was hard for her to integrate with the team in the beginning because the cultures are completely different. So she had to prove herself, kind of earn the respect and the trust of her teammates, and now she’s so well respected, so loved by everybody,” Martinez Lagunas said.

“She’s grown a lot on and off the field. I think every time she feels a bit more at home, like Canada is her second home and this team is her second home, as well.”

With eight games remaining in her waning Bisons career (not including playoffs), Chhibber is adamant about living in the moment before she goes pro and tries to induce social change back home.

“I’m going to embrace every opportunity I have with the girls on and off the field,” she said. “Every game I’m going to try and give it my best effort… and help and inspire these girls to keep doing the best they can in the sport.”

“I enjoy this with my whole heart.”

The Bisons will try to get off a two-game skid when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2-3) at IG Field on Friday.

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The Winnipeg Wesmen women’s soccer team has struggled in the early goings of the season. The young squad is 0-5 and has scored just two goals on the year. On the bright side, the team potted four goals all of last season, so there’s reason to believe the program is on the come up.

The Wesmen will look to get in the win column on Friday against the Regina Cougars (0-3-3) at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam