Astam Oraon will be 17 soon. She has already rubbed shoulders with some of the most talented global peers in her sport, football. Oraon, the captain, along with six other Adivasi girls of Jharkhand, were part of the final squad of the Indian U-17 women’s football team in the FIFA U-17 Football World Cup in India in October 2022. The team became the first Indian football team (men or women) across all age groups to have played the group matches of the World Cup, a dream for most aspiring Indian footballers.