Ace Odisha footballer shares Nepal quake ordeal

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 30:

Ace woman footballer of Odisha and former caption of the national women’s football team Shradhanjali Samantaray, who was in Kathmandu as the Coach of National Under-16 Girls Football Team when the 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, recounted her nightmarish experience after reaching home from the quake devastated country on Wednesday.

“It was late morning. We were in our dressing room and planning for the India-Iran match that was scheduled to be held later in the day. Suddenly we heard a loud unusual noise. We felt the ground below us and the entire room was shaking. The power supply also went off. All of this happened within a few seconds. We knew it was an earthquake. The coaches and managers advised students to run to the ground. They followed with difficulty as most of us experienced head reeling. The entire stadium was shaking violently.”

“Somehow, we managed to come to the centre of the ground and saw the main gate come crashing down right before us. It was the turn of the tower next. We were scared but stuck in the middle of the ground holding each other’s hands. The jerks continued intermittently,” said Shradhanjali.