There are many female athletes in India who have brought immense glory to the country. Even though women in India have always partaken in sports, unfortunately, neither their successes are adequately covered nor are they provided with the required infrastructure like their male counterparts. Moreover, girls in India are rarely moulded to take interest in active sports. Although there are many famous Indian sportswomen, like PV Sindhu or Tania Sachdev or Saina Nehwal, whose single-minded motivation led them to succeed in their respective sporting careers, many other female athletes in India have been able to excel because they were fortunate to have been born into sporting families.
Sports with most Indian female athletes
From team to solo sports, Indian women excel in different sports. But there are certain sports over others that attract Indian women – to name a few, cricket, badminton, tennis, athletics, chess, volleyball, basketball, and football. The reasons behind this inclination are varied. The availability of infrastructure, funds, media coverage although not exactly favourable to sportswomen in India and success stories of famous female sports players in India happen to be the reasons behind the tendencies. But now, more and more women are excelling in other games and winning Olympic medals for the country, such as weight-lifting, archery to name a few. We need to encourage as many women as possible to look beyond the obvious and break the glass ceiling.
Challenges
Sportswomen in India face multi-pronged challenges. While on one hand, economic constraints baulk progress for female athletes from economically marginalised and disadvantaged communities, lack of infrastructure adds to the woes. Financial support is also a big deal as sportswomen in India have always received less number of sponsors than male players. The situation worsens when the aspirant is a woman as they are expected to prioritize traditional roles of homemaking over their sporting career.
In traditional societies, women are expected to practice moderation in covering themselves, which is something men don’t deal with. Also, deeply religious or conservative societies find the very notion of women performing in front of a gallery of audience uncouth and offensive. Thanks to patriarchy, sports is often perceived as a male bastion. Personal safety, low media coverage, and fewer female role models are other challenges.
Famous Indian sportswomen
Despite these deep-rooted inequalities, many female athletes in India have emerged successful and have made the country proud. Let’s take a look at some of these high-achieving famous female sports players in India:
PT Usha - Known as the 'Queen of Indian track and field', PT Usha, is an inspiration to all athletes across the globe. Born in Kozhikode, her talent found expression from an early age. Soon, she went on to represent India at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. She participated and won silver medals at the New Delhi Asian Games held in the year 1982. At the Jakarta Asian Championships held in 1985, she clinched six medals including five gold. As a result, she was called the "Greatest Woman Athlete" at the Jakarta Asian Athlete Meet, the same year. She was conferred with Padma Shri in 1984 by the Government of India. She was also awarded the 'Adidas Golden Shoe Award' at the Seoul Asian Games in the year 1986.
Karnam Malleshwari - In 2000, Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian female athlete to have won the bronze medal in the weightlifting category at the Sydney Olympics. After this historic moment, she became a household name and was called the 'The Iron Lady' of India. In recognition of her triumph, she was conferred Arjuna Award in 1994 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1999, the country's highest sporting award. The same year she received the Padma Shri award.
Geeta Phogat - Geeta Phogat, a freestyle wrestler, is India's first female athlete to win a gold medal in the wrestling category at the Commonwealth Games in the year 2010 in New Delhi. She also won a gold medal at the FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament that took place in Kazakhstan in the year 2012. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games. In 2012, she won the bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships that took place in Canada.
2021 Olympic medal winners
Mirabai won the silver medal in the 49kg weightlifting category for women. Lovlina Borgohain is the third Indian athlete to win a bronze for 69kg Welterweight after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom.
PV Sindhu is the first Indian female athlete to have won two Olympic medals in Women’s singles for Badminton. She was also the first Indian to have won the silver medal in the game of Badminton at Olympics in 2016 and a gold at the 2019 World Championships. With her talent and mental grit, she emerged victoriously and tasted victory at the early age of 21.
Mithali Raj, the captain of the Indian women cricket team, is the highest scorer in international women’s cricket. In addition to that, she is the only female cricketer to have surpassed the 6,000-run mark in One-Day International matches.
Chess-star Tania Sachdev is India’s new Grandmaster. Having started playing chess from the tender age of six, her talent and perseverance earned her both the titles of International Master and Woman Grand Master. Also, at the Women’s Asian Team Championship (in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2014), she won three silvers and one bronze medal for the country.
When Deepika Kumari was crowned as world number one in the year 2012, the feat opened the eyes of every Indian to the fact that Indian women could also excel in the game of Archery. Presently ranked fifth in the world, Deepika continues to encourage many women who want to pursue their dreams despite socio-economic challenges.
Hailing from a family of wrestlers, Sakshi Malik is a name to reckon with in the game of Wrestling. She started early at the age of 12, and went up to win the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics in the year 2016, thereby putting an end to India's prolonged wait for a winner and making every Indian proud. She is the country’s very first female wrestler to have won a medal at the Olympics.
Sania Mirza started playing tennis at the age of 16. She emerged as the first and the only Indian female tennis player to have won six major titles, including both mixed and women's doubles. In fact, she held the numero uno position for doubles at a stretch of 91 weeks thereby becoming one of the biggest sporting icons in India.
Notable achievements
Many sportswomen in India have achieved unparalleled success. For instance, Saina Nehwal is India’s first badminton player to clinch a medal at the Olympics. She is not only the first female but also the only second Indian to have been ranked first in the world championship.
Equally successful, Mary Kom completely changed the Indian perception of women in boxing. Fighting off stereotypes, she became a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion. She is the only female boxer to have won a medal in all these world championships. She was conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours by the government of India after she won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon in 2014.
Future scope
Sports can be considered a career option for Indian women. Other than active sports, there are other options too, one being an Athletic Trainer who provides emergency care, rehabilitation, and clinical diagnoses to athletes. Another option is becoming varsity coaches. It requires an undergraduate degree and teaching certification. For those with ample experience, the prestigious position of College Athletics Director is a good option. The incumbent needs a graduate degree with extensive administrative and business knowledge in sports to supervise the performances of coaches and staff hired for athletic events. Other employment options include Sportswriter, Broadcast Journalist and Sports Executive.
In conclusion, as a society, we need to put in concerted efforts to provide Indian female athletes with the required facilities and socio-economic support. From parents to the government, everyone needs to do their own bit to make this happen. And there’s really no excuse to not do that with so many admirable female athletes in India making waves on the international stage.
FAQs
· Mithali Raj is the only Indian cricketer (male/female) to have led the Indian cricket team twice in the World Cup finals.
· Saina Nehwal is the recipient of Arjuna, Padma Shri as well as Padma Bhushan awards.
· Mary Kom is lovingly called 'Magnificent Mary'