Aditi Chauhan: Time in England helped my confidence on the ball

In Part 1 of the interview, the shot-stopper talks about her initial days, switching her career to football and being part of the Indian national team.

Indian goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan is a pivotal figure on the field as well as in the dressing room. The custodian has been a mainstay in the backline for the women’s national team and is a senior figure in a young Indian side.

Making an appearance for a live chat on the Indian Football team’s official Instagram handle, the eloquent Aditi opened up on a variety of topics, including the constant presence of sports in her childhood. Interestingly, she played her first competitive football match when she was 16 and dabbled with different sports before deciding to settle in football.

Retracing her steps in the world of sports, she began, “As young as I can think, when I was four of five, my elder brother used to go for his Taekwondo classes and I remember my mom used to take us both along. I was too young to participate in the practices, so I used to shadow the moves that my brother used to do in his session. That is my first memory of sports.”

“In school, I played a lot of sports. I have got a black belt in Karate, played basketball at the district level. I have done athletics and I am fairly decent in most of the sports except probably golf. As I said, sports has been in my genes. In my family, both my dad and brother are sportspersons, even my grandparents, so it came naturally to me. Football came quite late.”

She proceeded to reveal that she had never planned to carve a career in football, let alone play for her national team. Aditi admitted that she didn’t even know a national women’s football team existed. Her basketball coach initially suggested her to give trials as a goalkeeper because of the obvious similarities and qualities that can be transitioned from basketball.

The 27-year-old revealed, “I didn’t choose to be a goalkeeper. When I went to the trials, my basketball coach suggested that I should go and give trials as a goalkeeper because of the similarities in the situations and the advantages I could carry to that position by coming from a basketball background. I obviously didn’t understand at that point, but just followed the instructions of the coach.”

“The Delhi team were going to travel to Pondicherry for the nationals and I was more excited to travel and be with the team because I was chosen as third-choice keeper. So, I knew I wouldn’t get any minutes. Fortunately, our coach gave me a few minutes in one of the games and that is when I actually realized that this position really brings out the best in me and that position suits me better,” she went on to add.

The Gokulam Kerala player also admitted that she is working harder on her fitness and is trying to be more disciplined with her diet and her overall regime. Chauhan concedes that she has lacked the required consistency in her approach over the years, but has come to realize the importance of fitness in the past couple of years, especially after her ACL injury. She further cites Sunil Chettri as a role-model and hopes to emulate the star striker in setting an example for the younger generation.

“I have always played sports, so the natural strength and physical aspect was always there. But, what I have struggled with over the years or through these 10-12 years is the consistency with the diet or the regime. I have paid a lot of attention to the strength regime and conditioning, but I have always been inconsistent. In the last two years, especially after my injury, I have realized how important it is to maintain my fitness.”

“Now, that I have taken a more senior role in the team, that has also played a very important factor in my mindset in terms of also realizing the growing responsibility. I also understand that I need to set a good example with people looking up to me. Sunil Chhetri is an idol for all of us and he is leading by example. Similarly, that is something I feel I should also be doing for obviously my own sake but also to set a good example for the youngsters. That is the part of my mentality that has changed over the years,” she explained.

The goalkeeper made history when she became the first Indian female player to take part in competitive football in England, when she turned out for the West Ham United Ladies. Aditi believes that the time in England was a massive learning experience and helped her to improve several aspects of her game.

“When I started goalkeeping I wasn’t very comfortable with playing out from the back. With that experience (West Ham) and obviously with time, that has improved because you don’t have a way out, you have to learn, adapt and improve yourself.”

She further added, “In England, they love to play out from the back, keep possession and get the goalkeeper involved. So, those two years really helped me to become more confident and I love doing that now (playing out from the back). I am a lot more confident in passing the ball out from the back. Every session, I request our goalkeeping coach to work extra on that, as I know how important it is and how much of a difference it can make for the team.”

Aditi hopes that more young female players can attain that experience of playing abroad, as it can vastly accelerate their development. She thinks that playing in a better team against top quality oppositions in a league that runs throughout the year would be an invaluable experience for the girls, regardless of which division they play in.

She reasoned, “The standard, the culture is obviously different, the professional setup that is there is obviously different. The kind of experiences you have abroad are very important and that shapes you in different ways. It gives you amazing experiences both on and off the pitch. You learn so much about the game.”

Her compatriot, Bala Devi too is taking giant strides in her career on foreign soil, as she signed for Scottish giants Rangers, becoming the first Indian female to sign a professional contract abroad.  The shot-stopper believes that the move is a ‘game-changing’ and the experience will not only aid the striker’s development but will also help the youngsters and those around her when she reports for national duty.

“Bala (Devi) di is one of the top scorers for India and she has been doing so well for the nation. When she comes back to the national team, she will do amazing and she will share that experience with the youngsters, especially those going into the U-17 World Cup. Her experience will matter a lot in terms of shaping and developing young players,” Aditi Chauhan concluded.

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