Aditi Chauhan says she didn't know that a national women's football team existed in India when she kicked the ball for the first time.
Nearly two decades later, she retires as a trailblazer, having become the first Indian woman to play professional football in Europe.
"Playing football, I didn't know there was a national team first of all. So I started because of the fun of the game," the 32-year-old recalled in an interview with PTI Videos.
"When I started, I never imagined that, you know, everything that I achieved... it was not even a dream that I could imagine," she said.
Chauhan is not entering full-time coaching immediately but is open to helping out the next generation of players achieve their goals in top-flight football and for that, she is pursuing professional courses.
The former India women's team goalkeeper, who has announced her retirement from the game after a career spanning 17 years, during which time she has won many laurels with the national team as well as with her clubs, now wants to focus on developing new players.
"I would love to. These last few years also, I've been mentoring the other goalkeepers. I enjoy that role," she said.
She's completed her goalkeeping level 1 coaching course and wants to do more.
"I don't want to commit that I want to get into coaching. But yes, I would definitely like to help out," the former India women's number one custodian said.
During a successful international career, Chauhan, who caught everyone's attention after being signed up by West Ham United for the Women's Super League in England in 2015, donned the India jersey 57 times and, among others, was part of the senior teams that won the SAFF Women's Championship in 2012, 2016 and 2019.
She has also won gold medals at the South Asian Games.
But it wasn't just the highs that defined her career. After suffering two ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injuries, Chauhan fought her way back to the field to reclaim "something personal".
"Last year when I came back from my second ACL and played the IWL, my whole reason for coming back... was to find that joy again. I didn't want to leave football on a sour note with an injury," said the former India shot stopper.
"There were other goalkeepers playing. So, I had to again earn that spot in starting 11... I knew that once I'm back on the field, I'll earn my number one spot. And I did." She spent two seasons with West Ham before returning to India in early 2018, and then joined Gokulam Kerala FC for the 2019-20 Indian Women's League (IWL).
At the domestic level, Chauhan won the IWL title with Gokulam Kerala FC in 2019-20 and 2021-22 besides reaching the semi-finals of the AFC Women's Club Championship and securing a third-place finish.
She led a young team from the bottom of the table to a top-three finish in the IWL. But even as she performed at the highest level, retirement loomed.
"I felt as long as I'm playing, I'll always compete for number one spot. And that means that no one else will be able to... So that was also a part of that decision to kind of step aside and let the young guns take it from here," she added.
Asked about the national women's team qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup recently, she said, "I truly believe we can make it to the World Cup if we have the right planning and on-ground execution of things. This is the result of the preparation that we did for the Asia Cup and I think it is beautiful."
Her initiative 'SheKicks' is committed to building a professional ecosystem for young female footballers in the country.
"If I had the right professional setup around me, I wouldn't have to retire... I don't want a youngster to feel that way. That they didn't have the right resources, that's why they couldn't achieve their full potential," she said.
