Astam Oraon

Astam Oraon (born 5 February 2005) is an Indian professional footballer from Jharkhand, who plays as a defender for Odisha FC in the Indian Women's League and the India women's national football team. She captained the India Under-17 team in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup hosted by India in October 2022. A road was built in her village by the local administration in the name of Astam Oraon to celebrate her nomination as the captain.

Early life
Astam Oraon hails from Banari Goratoli village in Bishunpur block of Gumla district, Jharkhand. She is born in a poor family to Heeralal Oraon and Tara Devi. Both are daily wage labourers. They live in a small house with tiled roof but use a plastic sheet to prevent water seeping in during rains. She has four sisters and a brother. She is studying in Class 12 at St. Columbus Collegiate School, Hazaribagh and trains at the attached Football Training Centre. In October, after she was selected as the captain of the Indian team, she was named as the district's brand ambassador for a government scheme that supports girl child's education, named Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana (SPKSY). The district administration also gifted a TV for her parents to watch the matches.

Career
Her father, a footballer who had to stop due to an injury, introduced the game to her daughter and in 2016 admitted her in the Girls Football Training Centre at Hazaribagh. Her first coach was Sony. She was called for the Junior India camp in 2019. She captained the Indian youth team at the U-17 World Cup in 2022.

Honours
Odisha
 * Indian Women's League: 2023–24

Kickstart
 * Indian Women's League runner-up: 2022–23

Lords FA
 * Kerala Women's League: 2022–23