She Once Cycled 10 Km Every Day to Chase a Cricket Dream — Today, the World Knows Her Name

6 November 2025

From playing with a plastic bat in a tiny flood-hit Assam village to lifting the World Cup, this is the story of the first cricketer from Northeast India to become a world champion, Uma Chetry.

Uma, the youngest of 5 siblings, grew up in Assam's Kandhulimari village, which still floods a few times a year. When she was 3, her tryst with cricket began with a plastic bat bought from a Durga Puja pandal.

After finishing her farming chores, a young Uma would walk to the Bokakhat ground. With no money for equipment, she trained with whatever her coach, Mehboob Alam—who also runs a bakery—could provide.

While her father farmed & her brothers took up masonry to make ends meet, her mother, Dipa, held onto their single, powerful belief in Uma’s talent. Their collective sacrifice was the foundation upon which her dream was built.

In 2016, when she was dropped from the state team, she didn't quit. She told her coach, "I want to train full-time." At 5:30 AM, after farm work, she was on the ground after cycling for 10 km.

And the breakthrough came with the India A team, winning the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup. Upon her return, her village held a rally, honoring her with the sacred Phulam Gamocha. The girl who cycled 10 km was now their champion.

In 2025, Uma made it to Team India's ODI squad. Her success eased decades of financial struggle. From covering her father's medical bills to better farm equipment, every win of Uma's has also won a better life.

When India won its first-ever Women’s World Cup, Uma wasn't in the final XI who took the field, but her victory runs deeper. It’s the victory of every child in a small town, of every parent who dares to dream for their daughter.

Amid the celebrations that followed, there was one image that stilled and inspired a nation -- of Uma's mother, Dipa, wearing her daughter's medal.