What began as a routine press briefing turned into an emotional, nostalgic evening for some of India’s best-known sportswomen on Friday. The occasion was the launch of a calendar by Sports Divas, a company that seeks to support Indian sportswomen. Sports Divas was founded by Anuradha Namahshivaya, a national champion in gymnastics who had to give up her sports career because of a back injury, and went on take up competitive aerobics. Among those invited were Mary Kom (boxing), Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting), Dola Banerjee (archery), Alisha Abdulla (superbike racer), Nisha Millet (swimming), Reeth Abraham (athletics) and Chitra Magimairaj (cue sports).
The press briefing was followed by an interaction with students of the girls’ college Jyoti Nivas. Students – mostly in their teens – slowly warmed up to names they’d only heard of or seen on television. Given that it was a girls’ college, the theme gravitated towards the difficulty that competitive sportswomen faced in balancing family and career. “In India it’s hard for girls to get recognition,” said Malleswari. “We need to work 50 per cent harder than the men. You will get some help, at other times you will be put down, but those who are firm in their resolve will succeed.”
After struggling with a written note, Mary Kom turned misty-eyed as she talked of battling social prejudices. “Boxing is punishment… it was very very difficult to pursue it, especially because my father wasn’t very keen on me becoming a boxer,” she said. The girls in the audience craned their necks, and some even looked ready to burst into tears. “My parents never encourage me, but I took up the challenge. I won one world title before my marriage, and two after that. After I became a mother my father wanted me to give up the sport; I was very upset, but I took it as a challenge, and then I won another world title. So you have to ask yourselves – if boys can do whatever they want to, why not we girls?”
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