Successful Women’s Premier League required to bring about social change

The Women’s Premier League (WPL), which started amidst much fanfare last night, is a reinforcement of this belief. A successful WPL is needed to secure the sport. And there is enough momentum for a revolution. Only it should not get stymied by our penchant for not going deep down and effecting structural changes.

For far too long the women’s game had to draw its identity from the men’s version. Shafali Verma was the Virender Sehwag of the women’s game and so on. No more. With Rs 951 crores paid for broadcast rights and Rs 4,669 crores for the five franchises, the women’s game now has an identity of its own. It is a brand. Though equality is still some distance away, the market has responded well with corporates coming forward to invest in the women’s game.

The same applies to other sports as well. PV Sindhu stays a feature in the top 10 of world badminton and her recent injury notwithstanding, there’s a distinct chance she’ll be back in rhythm come the All England next week. Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are a much-improved doubles combination and if the Asia Mixed Team Championships is anything to go by, they can turn into serious contenders for a medal come Paris 2024.

In Table Tennis, Manika Batra and G Sathiyan are regularly winning against top teams in the circuit and it isn’t wrong to say that India will have a fair crack at a mixed doubles medal at the Asian Games in September. Manika’s turnaround since the 2022 Common Wealth Games (CWG) has been awe-inspiring. From not winning a CWG medal to consistently beating top-20 players in almost every tournament, she is back at her best.

Wrestling, a sport mired in controversy in recent times, has a serious depth of talent. Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik are two excellent wrestlers and it will be important for both to put the recent issues behind them and get back to training at the earliest.

While the women archers continue to blow hot and cold, the hockey team has shown consistent improvement if the CWG and other recent tournaments are an index. They may not have won a medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but what they did was earn respect for themselves and for the sport. They have shown why no Rani Rampal or Vandana Kataria should be stopped from playing hockey growing up. For a country as diverse and complex as India, we wouldn’t mind trading an Olympic medal for long-awaited social change.With the boxing World Championships in Delhi just a week away, expect the best from Nikhat Zareen. World and CWG champion, Nikhat is a real embodiment of change. “When I started boxing my mother would be very scared. One time when I got hurt while sparring and had a black eye, she was upset and started crying. She said because I was sparring with male boxers, no one would marry my sisters,” she said.

“My father said to her that one day I will be so successful that ghar mein dulhon ka line lag jayga.

“During the CWG when I called home, I again had a black eye. She asked me what happened and to my complete surprise, she said it wasn’t an issue and it will all be well in a day or two. If my mother can say this, you can realise how things change.”

Come the International Women’s Day on 8th March, let’s hope that the girls continue to make the country proud and take the Indian sport ahead.

“It is not just about playing sports and winning medals. While that’s important, it is certainly not everything. Eventually it is about making India a better place. And sport has given us the power to do so with our efforts. That’s how you inspire. And make change,” Sania Mirza, who retired from professional tennis recently, said.

With these icons serving as torchbearers of change, society will get better.