Scarcely five months into scripting history, Aditi Chauhan's ambitions met an abrupt jolt. Becoming the first Indian woman ever to feature in the English league football last summer, Aditi was soon staring at an expired visa and the prospect of a possible deportation. Life, though, offered her a second chance.
Today, speaking to ESPN, the 24 year-old goalkeeper, who plays for West Ham Ladies, says that though the uncertainty still lingers, she chooses to focus on what's well within her means - to play the best she can.
Ready to play her first match of the season against Swindon Town on Sunday, she says, "It's been an incredible experience, particularly coming from India where we don't have a league for women. When I started playing here, it took me some time to adjust because the standard of the game is quite high."
She kept a clean sheet, making some crucial saves, in her very first home game against Crystal Palace, whom they beat 3-0 in the FA Women's Premier League Cup in August last year.
She had another slice of history coming her way - becoming the first Indian to be awarded the Asian Woman Footballer of the Year in November 2015.
Hailing from Delhi, Aditi, who went to England to pursue her master's degree in sports management from Loughborough University, signed a one-year contract with West Ham Ladies, a third tier club, in August last year after being spotted by their goalkeeping coach.
Indian media went to town with her feat, hailing it as an unparalleled one. It was, however, when her student visa expired four months later, forcing a premature end to her stint and returning to India, that she looked around to realise that it's a lonely battle for sustenance. According to the FA - English football's governing body - a player on a student visa cannot play in the top two tiers of women's football.
With her alma mater, the Loughborough University, stepping in to offer her a part-time job of global student ambassador and agreeing to sponsor her visa for a year, Aditi returned to London and West Ham Ladies in August this year. She, however, admits that thoughts of travails that lie ahead are unsettling.
"The biggest struggle has been to find opportunities and to continue playing," Aditi, who works during the day, trains in the evenings and plays matches on Sundays, says, "Had there been enough support, I could just focus on football and not worry about how to fund my next visa."
The gulf in the standards, practices, methods and styles between English women's football and its Indian counterpart is yawning to say the least, Aditi says. "In India we don't have too many goalkeeper coaches. Also the style of play is different here - it's a lot more quick and physical. You are expected to release the ball really quickly and players are not afraid to go into a 50-50 ball tackle. All that took some time for me to get used to since I've never seen that kind of play in India."
Aditi admits to keeping a finger on Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's journey, one that she terms, "mutually inspiring." In June this year, Sandhu, who plays for Norwegian club Stabaek, became the first Indian footballer to play a top division match in a European league. "He's performing really well. Also, the improvement in the standard of his game is visible, one that comes with playing at the highest level."
She misses her friends and family back home in India and hasn't met her brother in over three years, but Aditi reckons the sacrifices can't be wished away.
Her sports management degree and experience in England, she hopes, will help in her efforts at developing Indian football post her playing career. Her achievements, she feels, has given women's football in India a world of belief and hope. "There are times when I feel like giving it all up and going back home, but then I tell myself, I'm here for a purpose," she says, "It's good that more women these days are realizing that football can be a career option and I'm happy to have played a role in the change."