The Game Changers
Wonder women whose combative performances in the international arena brought India gold and glory and changed the trajectory of the country’s sports
Beyonce didn’t bluff when she sang, “Who run the world? Girls.” It rang true in sports in 2018 as women hit new milestones. Mary Kom made history as the first female boxer to win six gold medals at the World Championships, matching Cuban pugilist Felix Savon’s haul of six medals. Shuttler P.V. Sindhu ended 2018 on a high, becoming the first Indian to win the BWF World Tour finals, a tournament that rewards the most consistently good players on tour. In Hima Das, a star was born. After being crowned the under-20 champion in 400 metres, the Assamese sprinter lived up to the hype at the Asian Games with two medals, which include gold in 4 x 400 m relay. Swapna Barman acquainted Indians with the heptathlon, giving a gutsy gold-winning performance at the Asian Games. And Vinesh Phogat became one of three Indians—wrestler Bajrang Punia and javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra being the others—to score the double this year: gold in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Kom, at 35, demonstrated that age and motherhood are no bar when it comes to excelling in a gruelling sport as she defeated a much younger competitor to win her first world title in seven years. Sindhu, 23, was the epitome of patience and resilience after being a losing finalist at this year’s World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Facing incessant questions about her mental fortitude, Sindhu illustrated that the tag of ‘choker’ was not for her as she defeated arch-rival Nozomi Okuhara to win the year-ending tournament. “I feel really happy and I think I have no words because this is my first win [title]
this year,” she said, emphasising the magnitude of the victory. Separated by 12 years, Kom and Sindhu remain two of the most popular sporting icons, winning people over with their true grit.
In Das, the Indian sporting scene got a much-welcomed flamboyant sportswoman whose persona is as big as her talent. Not since P.T. Usha has Indian athletics had a poster girl, and Das has been more than ready to fill the void with her candidness and tomboyish swagger, much of it evident in the photographs she shares on Twitter as it is in her demeanour on track. “I have said that I was very mischievous, headstrong and a bit of a bodmash (hellraiser),” said Das in an interview to india today in July 2018. “I do not fear anything... I believe in time and in God. Nothing else bothers me.” Time indeed will be the biggest hurdle for the 18-year-old athlete, who moves to senior level and runs against tougher competition to clock in a time that gets her a ticket to Tokyo.
Das could learn a thing or two from six-time national wrestling champion Phogat. In what is seen as a man’s domain, the Phogat sisters continue to impress, with Vinesh, cousin of Geeta and Babita, proving that women are not far behind in the combative sport. With a gold at the Asian and Commonwealth Games each and a silver at the Asian Championships in 2018, Vinesh, who missed the World Championships due to elbow injury, won a Grade A contract with the Wrestling Federation of India. It’s just the encouragement she needs as she begins her qualification campaign for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The quintet is India’s strongest bet at the Olympics where each will be aiming for nothing short of gold. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sindhu was just a step away from the podium; Vinesh suffered a knee injury in her first bout, which ended her campaign, and Kom failed to qualify. The next edition is perhaps her last shot to improve on her bronze at the London Games in 2012. She’ll want to end her innings with a powerful punch.