Spotlight on girls at HT GIFA Season 4
CONFIDENT Women cricketers’ run at the World Cup is big motivation for footballers at HT GIFA
The recent performance by the Indian women cricketers at the 2017 World Cup in England might not have won them the title but they surely won the hearts of people, impressing everyone with their phenomenal performance in the tournament.
The likes of skipper Mithali Raj, who became the highest run-getter in women’s ODIs when she surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards’s 5992 at the World Cup, and Jhulan Goswami, who became the leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket, will continue to inspire women not just in their sport but also in other disciplines.
While women may have been neglected in the field of sport, the scenario seems to be changing with Bollywood too playing an inspirational role. Boxoffice hits like Dangal have made the Phogat sisters a household name. Thanks to them, the spotlight is well and truly on women’s wrestling as more girls from rural districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are taking up the sport. Not to forget, Sakshi Malik who won the Rio Olympic Games bronze. Much like any other sport, football too remains a discipline where women players are often neglected and are rarely seen playing the game. But scouting young talent and encouraging participation of women football enthusi- asts has become the motto of SARE Homes HT GIFA. The fourth edition of the biggest inter-locality football tournament, SARE Homes HT GIFA, is back and will showcase all the positives from the last edition as well as add some more novelties in the latest edition. The tournament, which is set to get even bigger this year, has notch up more than 2500 registrations this year from Delhi-NCR and also added to the number of women’s teams from the previous edition.
“As soon as I heard about HT GIFA, I encouraged my sister to participate in the tournament as she is really passionate about football and follows the sport regularly,” said Arvind Sharma, brother of Jigyasha Sharma, a participant this year. “This tournament is a positive step forward that develops their interest in the game while also encouraging them to pursue it as a career. While tournaments like these are wonderful, many more should be organised in other sports as well where women players are encouraged to participate,” he added.
“HT GIFA has been a huge influence in my life. I am an ardent football fan and love to play the sport. It is the only tournament in the capital organised on such a huge scale where women football players can participate. I had participated in the tournament last year and have registered this year too. I am also encouraging my friends this year to participate with me, and I am happy that most of them have registered . I am grateful to Hindustan Times for organising this tournament and giving women players a chance to compete and prove their skills and talent on such a platform.” said Meher Tandon, a participant from last year. The training and pre-qualifier matches are set to begin from the August 12 at Delhi and Gurgaon. So, stay tuned for some smashing action from Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action.