Harshika Jain

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2025: first Indian footballer to sign with a Romanian first division club

Anil Dias, July 28, 2025: The Times of India

At first glance, 22-year-old Harshika Jain’s footballing roots don’t scream ‘history maker’. A girl from a business family in Mumbai’s plush Altamount Road, she was just another sports-loving kid who dabbled in everything from basketball to handball to hockey. But by the time she turned 11, football had kicked everything else aside. Two days ago, Harshika became the first Indian footballer to sign with a Romanian firstdivision club, joining Atletic Olimpia Gherla. No Indian has ever featured in Romania’s top two leagues before.

Moving from India to play professional football at the European stage, Harshika is following in the footsteps of Bala Devi, Manisha Kalyan and Aditi Chauhan. Her signing isn’t just about international firsts; it’s also one of persistence, late-night training sessions, lockdown drills, and a young girl breaking into all-boys’ teams. Harshika’s football journey began at school, where she could always be found on the football ground.

And she could be spotted quite easily, too, as she would be the only girl training with boys. It was the same in her locality, where she would always have to play with the other boys as no girls joined it. The move to Romania came through trial at Olimpia Gherla, where she impressed legendary coach Mirel Albon, the man behind Romania’s rise in women’s football. After 20 days of trial, the club offered her a contract. “It feels like family here,” Harshika told TOI. “And that’s important to me. I’m close to my family, and the club environment reflects that. They’ve welcomed me with open arms.” Despite going global, her dream remains rooted in national colours. “Wearing India’s jersey, that’s the dream. Always has been.”