The Weaker Sex ? Who Said That?

Ten years from now, 2016 may well appear the year that started A NEW REVOLUTION for Indian sportswomen. Or it may end up being one more blip on the Indian sporting scene, joining many others that highlighted potential only to fizzle out for lack of sufficient support and a well-oiled system. For now, however, it’s time to celebrate the coming of age of the Indian sportswoman.

- Uthra Ganesan

The year 2016 could well be called the Year of Indian Women in Sports. Breaking barriers and stereotypes, extending boundaries and overshadowing their male counterparts on the world stage, Indian sportswomen set new benchmarks in every field to announce their arrival.

It wasn’t an easy journey but then no ascent to the summit ever is. While women in Indian sports have always fought both systemic and societal prejudices to prove themselves, what set 2016 apart was the way they stepped up to claim their own space without the accompanying support structure. It was, in many ways, the coming of age of Indian women.

And the three girls that led the charge have not only become household names but icons and role models inspiring, hopefully, an entire generation of Indians to seek and build future in sports. Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and P. V. Sindhu have done more for Indian sports than what years of efforts trying to instil gender parity have achieved. And what better stage to do it than the biggest of them all, the Olympics?

IT BEGAN WITH SINDHU AT RIO. A 21-year old who, till the beginning of this year, was constantly in the shadows of Saina Nehwal, her senior with an Olympic medal from London 2012 that made her the prima donna of Indian badminton. Despite Sindhu’s two back-toback World Championship medals, her consistent showing at every major international competition and her gradual growth in stature, she remained the star-in-waiting even as Sania stayed at the forefront of not just the country’s hopes but also its adulation.

Sania’s early ouster at Rio pushed Sindhu into the spotlight. But not for nothing does coach Pullela Gopichand call his ward one of the strongest among there mentally and physically. Opponent after opponent, through the group stages and then the knockouts, all ranked higher than her, fell by the wayside as a new, aggressive and dominating Sindhu forked her way to the final.