At the age of 15, Roshan Keisham packed his bags, left his home in Manipur and came to Mumbai with the hope of pursuing his hockey dream as well as landing a stable job to support his family.
That was in 2009, and over the following decade, he did manage to get a job with the Railways but wasn't considered good enough to be a part of even their hockey team's camp, let alone the team.
On Sunday, however, Keisham was drafted into the list of 60 probables for the senior national men's hockey camp that commenced in Bengaluru on Monday.
The defender caught the eye of Hockey India high-performance director David John during the senior national championships in Gwalior earlier this year.
"I'm very surprised to be here," the 25-year-old Keisham said from the camp in Bengaluru.
"I have struggled with my hockey career for the last 4-5 years. I didn't get to play for even the Railways team, and here I am directly in the India probables camp."
Keisham's hockey journey began in Khonzman, a small village in Manipur that has given the country players like Chinglensana Singh, who was the vice-captain of the Indian team in the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
Attracted to the sport by watching his seniors play in school, Keisham honed his skills but couldn't do much about it due to his family's financial condition.
Eager to support his parents, elder sister and a younger brother, Keisham took the advice of his town-mate Chinglensana, who asked him to migrate to Mumbai in order to find a job as well as give his hockey a shot.
Little did he know that setting foot at the Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA) ground for a training camp would change his life almost a decade later.
"This boy had just come to Mumbai from Manipur, and was training with some 40-50 other boys at the MHA. I spotted him playing, and ever since then I thought he'll make it at the top at some point," Joaquim Carvalho, former Olympian and national hockey coach, said.
Carvalho — who was part of the MHA back then — drafted him into the junior Mumbai team, and Keisham made a mark almost immediately.
He led Mumbai to a silver medal in the U-17 sub-junior national hockey championships in 2011, and yet his career couldn't quite take off from there.
That's until earlier this year, when he managed to generate some curiosity in the Nationals in Gwalior.
"(India player) Kothajit (Singh) told me David (John) was asking him about me. Kotha bhai motivated me to play well in the following match, saying people are watching you," Keisham said.
His mentor Carvalho believes Keisham is an ideal player in the world of total hockey played currently, and felt he should make it to the Indian team in at least a year or two, if not before.
"He has got all ingredients of becoming a top all-round hockey player. He has good agility, good speed, good tackling skills and a good vision," he said.
"I am quite surprised that he doesn't find a place in the Railways team. He is a versatile player who can play anywhere. And in today's hockey, you require defenders who can push forward," Carvalho added.
Having secured a job with the Railways since 2013, Keisham is satisfied that he has made it to a position where he can support his family in Manipur. At the hockey front, though, he has some unfulfilled desire.
"I'm happy I have a job, but I want to achieve more in hockey. My first aim is to get selected in the core 33 group, and then my dream is to be a part of the Indian team," Keisham said.
