Scouting Report: Anita Dungdung | Subroto Cup 2023

Anita Dungdung showed incredible signs in the process of winning the coveted Subroto Cup.

A few days back, Jharkhand’s St. Patrick’s School won the 62nd Subroto Cup Junior Girls U-17 tournament thanks to a 3-0 win over Haryana’s G.S.S.S Alakhpura at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi. One of the shining stars for the side that defended its title from the previous year was Anita Dungdung, who led the forward line with incredible poise and scored a brace in the final.

Anita Dungdung was awarded the Best Player Trophy and a cheque of Rs. 40,000 for her efforts at the 62nd Subroto Cup Girls U-17 tournament. The football community in India was extremely impressed by her performance and took notice of her contribution. Her talent makes her a prospect for the future and possibly another star to emerge out of the Subroto Cup tournament.

Here is a look at her scouting report:

Anita Dungdung’s Playing Style

Anita Dungdung is a brilliant forward with an insatiable hunger for goals. The attacker relishes crosses from the flanks and punishes defences with her expert finishing. Her movement inside the box is deadly, as seen through her opening goal against Haryana’s G.S.S.S Alakhpura in the 2023 Subroto Cup Girls U-17 final, which came inside the first minute of the match. 

She also loves to pounce on rebounds. Her pace and nimble body movement make it difficult for opposition defenders to contain her. Furthermore, Anita showed prowess with her left foot with a curling effort towards the far post which led to her second goal in the final.

Anita Dungdung will shine in a system that allows for fluidity in positional play in the final third. Jharkhand’s St. Patrick’s School took the game by the scruff of the neck due to their versatile attackers, such as Anita, and Haryana’s G.S.S.S Alakhpura had no answer against the waves of attacks that were being thrown at them. 

Moreover, Anita Dungdung exhibits creative qualities as well. She enjoys creating scoring chances for her teammates. Her overall skill set allows her to fall deep and get involved in the build-up play too!

Future Potential

Anita Dungdung can easily go on to represent India in the developmental teams and perhaps the senior team in future. The short-term objective should be to sign for an established professional club where she will receive exposure and resources to develop herself as a player.

The signs are there in Anita Dungdung to become a prolific striker, both at the club level and the international level. She will need proper guidance and a lot of focus from her coaches and the like to make her path forward as smooth as possible. Indian women’s football is in dire need of prolific forwards who can score goals and Anita is possibly the solution if her upward trajectory sustains.