Aditi Chauhan, 23, is India’s first and only woman to play in the English league football. Last summer, she was signed by a top English Club, West Ham, as their goalkeeper.
In a tête-à-tête with Radio Dwarka, Chauhan, who has played district-level basketball, holds a black-belt in karate and has also dabbled in taekwondo in her school days, talks about her football journey, which kicked off when her school coach asked her to participate in Delhi under-19 team trials.
And the rest, as they say, is history. She has represented India at the women’s football competition at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and at the under-19 Indian national women's team at AFC Qualifiers in Malaysia.
Doing a perfect balancing act, she has never ignored her studies to focus on sports as that was the only condition laid down by her family when she decided to play football. “I was left with no choice but to manage my studies to continue playing sports,” says Chauhan. She boasts of an impeccable academic record, having secured 89% in Class 10, 93% in Class 12 and 1st division in Graduation. She has attended Loughborough University where she pursued her Masters in Sports Management and played for them before being selected by West Ham.
Reflecting on, she says, “Times have changed and opportunities galore for a sportswoman today. AIFF has made it mandatory for states to have their own leagues to select players, which is indeed a welcome move. Facilities and infrastructure have improved and there’s fierce competition among players to secure a place in the Team. It is good but there’s still a long way to go.”
But how is it different playing in India and England? She says, “England as we all know is the hub of football; the sport is systematic and well-organised unlike here in India. The standards are high but not just that, a woman footballer gets umpteen opportunities to play, perform and excel.”
She, however, rues lack of fitness and nutrition plan in India which if taken care of properly in one’s childhood will help us get many more sportspersons.
Signing off with a message for youngsters, Chauhan says, “Nothing is unthinkable or impossible. If you are passionate about something, just pursue it whole-heartedly with sincerity and dedication, and trust me, things will work out on their own for you.”

Piyush Kumar,
Radio Dwarka,
India's First Online Community Radio,
Saturday, March 12, 2016