Who is Sonia Marak? It's a question asked a lot in football circles lately.

The 22-year-old turned heads earlier this month when she scored a hat-trick against Arunachal Pradesh at a semi-professional sports festival in Imphal in Northeast India.

On field, she's a talented midfielder who plays for the Indian state of Assam and garners plenty of attention.

Off field, her dreams are big, and rightly so.

"Sonia has a great game sense and is extremely gifted, as a coach I feel she has a bright future," Chaliha said.

But that bright future could just as easily turn dark, because she doesn't have the finances to excel.

Dreams easily dragged down by poverty

Marak dreams of donning the Indian team jersey, but her road there isn't going to be easy. Poverty is pulling her down at every turn.

Coming from a remote village in West Karbi Anglong district in Assam, Marak was born into a family of five children. Her parents were farmers, and they struggled to put food on the table. Sometimes she only ate one meal a day.

Marak recently lost her father to illness, which put her mother in a position of no regular income. She is currently looking for a job to support her family.

There are times the budding football star still sleeps on an empty stomach, but to her, training hard to fulfil her dream gets her through.

She turned to football at a young age, when she'd watch her brother play with his friends in nearby rice paddy fields and although she didn't know the rules, she did know she was drawn to it.

"I saw my brother playing football and I loved watching the sport," Marak said.

Most of her family didn't encourage her to play, because they didn't think she'd earn much money, but her elder brother inspired her to pursue her dream.

Rising up, no matter what

Marak took up the sport without any professional training and started playing in tournaments in her district.

During a district meet in 2014, she got noticed by the football fraternity. Her talent was spotted by selectors and in 2015 she was given training under the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

The SAI is run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and it's aim is to prepare athletes for professional careers. Marak gets some food and accommodation at the SAI, but until she plays at national and international level, there's no financial compensation.

It's hard for a woman who hasn't got the financial backing of her family, or anyone else. Marak needs to work so that she and her family can survive, which means less time on the field.

Even so, another of Sonia's coaches, Jogeshwar Basumatary, says her grounding and dedication could take her a long way.

"I found her very humble and someone who is always smiling, despite not having any luxuries in life," Basumatary said.

Basumatary also says Marak's skills are second to none.

And so is her positive vibe.

"She is never nervous," Basumatary said.

"If Sonia is given a professional environment by the concerned authorities, she will make it very big in the world of football."

Following her idols

Marak's idols are Bala Devi and Bembem Devi.

"One day I would like to play like them," she said.

Bala Devi plays in the Scottish women's Premier League and is the first Indian woman footballer to be signed by a European club.

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Some days, Marak feels like she won't be able to make her dreams a reality though.

Indian players like Marak are struggling to get the basics when it comes to training and equipment. They need financial support to get ahead.

Marak is an example of how passion, dedication and hard work can break through, but it may only get her so far.

Prarthana Hazarika is a Senior Sports Journalist at India's public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, a member of the International Sports Press Association and part of ABC International Development’s Women in News and Sport Initiative, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Team Up program.