Purnima Kumari

Purnima Kumari (born 10 February 2005) is an Indian professional footballer from Jharkhand who plays as a defender for the Indian Women's League club Sethu and the India national football team. She has also represented Jharkhand in the senior national championships.

Early life and education Kumari is from Jambahar village, Thethaitanger block, Simdega district, Jharkhand. Her father’s name Jeetu Manjhi and she has five sisters and a brother, Ranjit Manjhi, who is a daily wage worker. Her brother also runs a roadside cart to sell instant food. Her second eldest sister, Sanmait Kumari brought her up after the death of her mother Chaiti Devi in 2006. She comes from a poor family and lives in a thatched hut. Since they do not have a TV at home, the family tried to watch her under–17 World Cup matches on a mobile phone, but bad network let them down. She learnt football playing with her brother during her childhood. The Indian team played three matches against USA, Brazil and Morocco in Group A and lost all their matches.

She took part in the School Games Federation of India games, Subroto Cup and in 2019 played the under–17 All India Federation Cup.

In 2021, she played for the club Biratnagar Metropolitan City in the 2021 season of the Nepal National Women's League.

Awards Paying for Sethu FC in the Indian Women's League 2025, she bagged the Best Defender award.

Career statistics International

Honours

India SAFF Women's Championship: 2026