Life after retirement – Why Aditi Chauhan called time on career and what next for the goalkeeper?

For more than a decade, Aditi Chauhan was Indian football’s safest pair of hands. 

The goalkeeper who once stood tall against Brazil, the first Indian woman to play professionally in England, and a three-time SAFF Championship winner has now moved into a different kind of responsibility: shaping the future of the game she once guarded.

Her retirement raised eyebrows. Chauhan was still fit, still performing at the best level, and still capable of commanding a backline with her trademark sweeper-keeper instinct.

But as she explains, the decision wasn’t abrupt. It had been brewing for months.

“I just couldn’t let an injury define my career. I wanted to retire on my own terms,” she said in an exclusive conversation with The Bridge.  

Aditi Chauhan talks with the kind of warmth you don’t usually expect from a retired athlete.

Cheerful, easy with her laughter, and still very much the leader she once was on the pitch, she didn’t sound like someone burdened by the weight of what she had given up.

Instead, she sounded relieved, even excited, as if the gloves had been passed on but the responsibility still remained.

Many sports, one choice

Growing up in a military household, Chauhan was introduced to discipline early but freedom came in the form of sport.

She dabbled in karate, earned a black belt, played basketball at district level, even tried her hand at athletics. For a long time, football wasn’t even on the horizon.

That changed in school, when she was nudged towards the pitch. A coach suggested she try goalkeeping. Height and agility made her a natural fit.

“I never thought I’d stick with it,” she recalled with a grin. “But once I started, I just couldn’t let go.”

Football, unlike her other sports, gave her both adrenaline and belonging. 

The West Ham chapter

Her story isn’t complete without the time she spent in England.

When Chauhan arrived in England for her MSc in Sports Management at Loughborough University, she had no idea she was about to rewrite Indian football history.

She emailed clubs, turned up for trials, and fought her way into West Ham United Women, without an agent, without a network, without a blueprint.

Her debut came against Coventry United, and with it, a place in the record books as the first Indian woman to play in Europe.

But for Chauhan, the landmark was less important than the challenge.

“I didn’t want to sit on the bench. I wanted to play, test myself, and see where I stood in a country where football is a way of life," she said.

The experience transformed her.

Week-in, week-out competitive football sharpened her instincts, built her confidence, and convinced her that India needed a system where women could play not just for a few weeks in a year, but for months on end.

Guarding India’s goal

Back home, Chauhan was the national team’s anchor. She won three SAFF Championships, kept goal against legends like Marta, and shouldered the responsibility of being the team’s last line of defence.

But her fondest memory remains the first time she wore the national jersey.

“Coming from a military family, that badge meant everything. It also convinced my parents to truly back me,” she recalled, her voice softening at the memory.

Her career also coincided with Indian women’s football’s slow but steady rise.

“The federation is doing its bit with the IWL and state leagues, but it can’t just be them. Media, corporates, fans all need to contribute. We can’t just sit back and criticize,” she says, with the same command in her tone that once ordered defenders into position.

The setbacks that shaped her

If her career had its high points, it also had brutal lows.

Chauhan tore her ACL twice, injuries that could have ended her journey. But she refused to bow out.

“I could have taken the easy way, moved on to a job, made more money. But representing India is different. That’s what pushed me back.”

She took two years to recover, rebuilt herself, and returned to the IWL stage, proud of the fight as much as the football.

“After the second ACL, when I came back and played at the level I did, I knew I could overcome anything.”

Her retirement, when it finally came, was not an easy announcement.

“The post was ready for two months. Hitting publish was the hardest thing,” she admits. “Of course, you always wonder ‘what if.’ But I’m at peace with the decision. I ended on my terms.”

Chauhan’s words echo the eternal athlete’s dilemma: leaving while still capable. Yet, for her, the future lay elsewhere, building the system she never had.

She Kicks: Giving the game back

In 2018, Chauhan launched She Kicks. It began as an academy and a Delhi-based club but soon evolved into a wider ambition: a league.

“I realised talent here isn’t short, but opportunities are,” she said.

“You can train as much as you want, but without competitive matches, you don’t improve. In the UK, I saw how playing every weekend changed me as a player.”

The first She Kicks League in Delhi surprised even her, with teams traveling from Maharashtra to compete.

This year, the project expanded to Bengaluru, with Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi next.

The league isn’t just for budding professionals – working women, even mothers, are part of it.

“They inspire others simply by showing up. That’s the perspective we want to change,” Aditi said.

Sponsorship, however, remains a challenge.

“Most corporates still look at numbers and digital reach. But some understood our vision. It’s not about vanity metrics, it’s about impact," she asserted.

For Chauhan, She Kicks an answer to the question she once asked herself: What am I doing to contribute?

The legacy of a pioneer

From being a black-belt in karate and a district-level basketball player to standing in goal for India against Brazil, Chauhan has lived multiple sporting lives.

Through them all, the common thread has been her resilience.

Her message to the next generation is as straightforward as her goalkeeping style: “Never give up. Work hard, stay consistent. But don’t compromise on education. That balance will help you on and off the field.”

And to fans, she offers a challenge: “This is the time. Women’s football in India is making history. Don’t miss it.”

Cheerful, candid, and unflinchingly honest, Aditi Chauhan may have left the field. But she hasn’t left the game.