ahead of their wedding reception to be held in kochi today bentla dcouth and arjun gowder talk to us about their courtship which was born on the football court love blossoms not only on campuses but also on football grounds or at least thats what bentla dcouth learned the countrys first woman to become a fifa referee is on cloud nine at 43 she has found love it was in 1999 that bentla met arjun gowder they were batch mates learning the tricks of refereeing but today both the referees have decided to share more than just their love for football we were so much into football that our conversations were always on rules and regulations of the game we had heated discussions on the topic and never spoke about our personal lives recounts arjun over the years their friendship grew and the two kept bumping into each other at various national and international events recently arjun was in kerala for a treatment and it was then that he decided to open his heart to bentla we have been friends for the last 14 years however it had never crossed my mind that she will be my life partner one day he shares just before bentlas 43rd birthday arjun called her and told her that this birthday will be extra special i have never celebrated my birthday in these 43 years and when he asked me to call my family for the birthday i didnt take it seriously says bentla who confesses that it was a shock and surprise to get a proposal from him though initially the family was against the relationship because of religious barriers she is a christian and he is a hindu arjun managed to convince both the families he convinced them in just two and a half hours recollects bentla what i liked about bentla is her dedication sacrifice and honesty towards the profession also she is very outspoken i guess thats what makes her beautiful says arjun as for bentla she finds arjun very caring not just towards me but generally he is a caring person we also have many things in common both of us lost our parents and we are alone she says while bentla works with the agricultural department in kochi arjun is with the army in goa marriage was a quick decision and we didnt get time to think or plan for the future we are just leaving it all to god they say in unison arjun and bentla are organising a wedding reception for their dear and near ones in kochi today