Bala Devi makes first start for Rangers against Hearts WFC

The forward played 80 minutes of the game.

The captain of Indian Women's football team, Bala Devi, started her debut match for Rangers WFC against Hearts WFC, was played in the Hummel Training Centre. This is the first encounter of the Scottish Women’s Premier League. It is a tournament that would be played among eight teams over the course of this calendar year. [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Bala Devi signed for the Scottish giants towards the end of the January transfer window. The player and the club have agreed upon an 18-month long contract and by the signs of it, the 30-year-old seems to be an integral part of the Rangers’ plans going ahead this season. She originally plays as a striker and has impressively bagged 36 goals from 38 international matches for the senior team ever since having made her debut. [embed]https://twitter.com/RangersWFC/status/1231979599338377218[/embed] She has twice been awarded the AIFF Women’s Player of the Year and been a part of the national team that emerged victorious in the SAFF Women’s Championship thrice. Additionally, she played for the Manipur Police Sports Club in the inaugural season of the Indian Women’s League in 2016-17. Furthermore, she went on to represent Eastern Sporting Union and the KRYPHSA Football Club later. Bala Devi had gone to Glasgow for the trials in November 2019 when Rangers were interested in signing her. She was then provided with the UK work permit on special exemption. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] ISL champions Bengaluru FC  have a strategic partnership with Rangers FC  and they played a key role in finalizing Devi's deal. Rangers WFC had finished in the fourth spot in the SWPL 1 last season. They had gained 34 points from 21 matches and were a hefty 26 points behind the eventual champions, Glasgow City. This time around, they would look to better that tally and Bala Devi would arguably be one of the key figures if the club is to revive their fortunes and gain a positive momentum early on in this campaign. By the early signs of it, it does seem to be a possibly encouraging season-in waiting for the Indian skipper.