U-17 Women's World Cup: Girl from Red zone dribbles past poverty to be India captain

Oraon's U-17 soccer team takes on US todayGUMLA: Gorratoli will have scored a goal when its daughter Astam Oraon takes the field on Tuesday, whatever the outcome. The Adivasi teen from the nondescript tribal village in the Maoist-infested Gumla district of Jharkhand will be Team India's captain in the FIFA U-17 women's World Cup tournament that kicks off in Bhubaneswar from Tuesday. Gorratoli shot to limelight a few months ago after Astam was named part of the senior Indian team. The spotlight became brighter last week when she was anointed U-17 skipper.

If Astam has gone places, her success seems to have opened Gorratoli's long-shut doors to development: the Gumla district administration has announced a football stadium worth Rs 2 crore in her name and a black-topped road to her village. "This is to motivate other girls and their families that none should stop dreaming big. A stadium after her name will set the tone for other girls to come out, play and make it big," said Gumla deputy commissioner Sushant Gaurav. Gaurav was speaking a few months ago when Astam became part of the senior team and he visited her village to felicitate her father Heeralal Oraon and mother Tara Devi.

Hailing from a poor farmer's family, Astam's road to fame wasn't easy. She has four sisters and a brother and had to face hunger and other problems, recalled her family members. The third child in the family, Astam dreamt of being a football player since childhood and never let obstacles come in her way. In 2016, she was selected for training at a state-run residential football centre in Hazaribagh. "A girl from a rural hamlet pursuing the game without many facilities and becoming the captain speaks volumes about Astam's struggle," said Soni