100 club goals — another high for Hajra

Pakistan women’s team captain satisfied with Maldives stint

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top striker Hajra Khan added another feather to her cap by scoring the 100th goal of her entire club career.

The Karachi-based striker is currently playing with Sun Hotels and Resorts Football Team in her second season abroad and said the last match with her team was nothing less than a fairy-tale, during which she scored a hat-trick.

Hajra has now scored 102 goals in 44 matches so far. “I’m over the moon upon completing 100 goals, and the hat-trick in the last match was like the icing on the cake,” the Pakistan women’s team captain told The Express Tribune.

Read: 2014 has been the best year for me, says Hajra Khan

Hajra, who also plays for Balochistan United (BU) FC, said that ideally she would have wanted her 100th goal at home. “I wanted to celebrate this feat at home, but I guess one can’t plan these things. At least I’m fortunate to be playing in an international league.”

The striker also won the player-of-the-match award on Monday for her performance and said that her aim has been to give her best abroad so that the world can see Pakistan’s talent.

Now accompanied by her national team and BUFC teammate Shahlyla Baloch, Hajra feels that it is time to aim higher. “It’s great that Shahlyla is here too — she too scored a hat-trick. It just proves that Pakistani women have the talent and the drive to play international football. We’ve been received well here, especially by the South Asian community, but now I would want to play outside this region too.”

Read: Hajra's footballing journey and her four aspirations

The 20-year-old said that playing six matches in Maldives has been an eye-opening experience, especially knowing that her performance is instrumental in her club’s victories.

She added that in Maldives, she got the opportunity to train with German players as well. “We get to learn with each match,” said Hajra. “It’s challenging playing here because we came to Maldives a week before and have had little time to acclimatise to the conditions here. So it’s a very different experience here compared to Pakistan, where we have training camps for two months.”

Hajra and Shahlyla will return to Pakistan on June 8.