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It is good to go out when you are still wanted: Chauhan
Aditi Chauhan retires from professional football after 14 years, reflecting on India's progress and her hopes for women's football's future.
Kolkata: At a time when India’s women’s teams are shining brighter than they ever have this century, Aditi Chauhan announced her retirement from professional football. India will be going to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, having qualified on merit for the first time, but on Wednesday, hours before the under-20 team beat Uzbekistan 4-1, Chauhan decided to end a career that began in 2008.
And it wasn’t on a whim. “You know that everything I do is planned, at least to the extent that I can plan things,” Chauhan told HT in an interview on Thursday. But why not stretch it for one more season and see if she could be on the plane to Australia in eight months?
“To be honest, I was expecting a national team call after the last IWL (Indian Women’s League) season. That and the support of my parents and people close to me were why I was trying to make a comeback after another ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. My performance should have been enough,” she said.
In February 2023, Chauhan had left an India-Nepal friendly in Chennai in tears after her second ACL injury. She returned in IWL last season with Kolkata club Sreebhumi FC. Playing in a city “that genuinely appreciates football and gets behind the team” was another box ticked for the player from Delhi.
Sreebhumi finished third, the highlight for Chauhan being a penalty save against HOPS in Delhi with her parents in the crowd. But with India transitioning under head coach Crispin Chhetri, Chauhan, 33, was omitted from the squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers along with senior players Ashalata Devi and Dalima Chibber.
“I definitely felt that I could have contributed, brought in my experience. But things didn’t work out. But then, you know I have got offers for IWL next season. Last season, I was struggling to find a club. So, now I feel even better that I have retired on my terms. It is good to go out when you are still wanted,” she said.
The Asian Cup qualification is a continuation of what started as build-up for the 2022 finals, she said. “This has come because of the preparation we did then. The memory of what happened will never be removed from our lives (India were scratched because of Covid-19 in the squad). But it was about time. Full credit to the girls for knocking out all the noise around them. It was really special talking to the players after the match (India beat Thailand 2-1 on July 5 to qualify). We were enjoying that together. It is an achievement for all of us.”
That is what you get when you put “some sort of structure, get foreign coaches, revive the Arrows (development squad).” A first World Cup qualification in 2027 may not be a bridge too far, Chauhan said. “I think we need time to develop the players, give them exposure, give them the right ecosystem and then we can even compete in the World Cup. It’s not going to be long before that happens.”
India are 70th in FIFA rankings and will need to make the quarter-finals in Australia to be in the fray for a World Cup berth.
But that she retired after 14 years and 57 caps on the day Wales goalie Wayne Hennesey, 38, ended her career on 108 internationals is also proof of how far India need to go. “If I had the right ecosystem, I wouldn’t have to retire. There’s not enough money. So I’ve been juggling different things. I didn’t think it was possible anymore.”
For now, Chauhan will stay connected to football through “She Kicks”, a project for girls set up by her foundation. But with a degree in sports management she did not rule out a role in All India Football Federation (AIFF). “The change has to come from within. And the resources that AIFF has, nobody else does.”
