As Ritu Porna was declared player of the year, the hall erupted in applause. Moments later, she was back on stage, this time winning the Readers’ Choice Player of the Year title. Two victories in a single evening made Rituparna the undisputed star of the ceremony.

The girl from Rangamati had flown to Dhaka from Bhutan on special leave for the event.

With both awards in hand and a shy yet vibrant smile on her face, she said in her immediate reaction, “I’m very happy. Congratulations to everyone. My thanks go to the organisers, my family, football fans, and the Bangladesh Football Federation.”

In a quiet moment, she shared her far-reaching dream: “We’ve been SAFF champions twice, now we’ll play on the Asian stage, and we’ll try to take Bangladesh to the world stage as well.”

“This award will motivate and inspire me to play even better. I’ll try to push myself further and score more beautiful goals,” she added.