Rise of women sports in country, in crowd and in spirit

It was the semifinal day of the 2024 Women's Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir. Conventionally speaking, Bihar is not known for anything related to the sport. Odisha, followed by Jharkhand, and to a certain extent Chennai have come to be known as the centers of hockey when it comes to existing in recent times. However, the roar the crowd let out when the ground announcer started introducing the Indian players at the Rajgir Sports Complex in late November would tell you that the state of Bihar had embraced the sport like never before.

It is not just hockey, women's sports in India are slowly and steadily gaining the imagination of people. The crowd at various sporting events are an indication of what is to unfold in the coming years.

Female athletes, who have played in front of empty chairs in the not-so-distant past, feel this is one of those watershed moments they never thought they would witness in their careers. Take Harmanpreet Kaur, for example, current captain of the national side played in the 2013 ODI World Cup hosted in India. The fixtures were played across two cities, Mumbai and Cuttack, on five grounds. Despite Wankhede Stadium being within walking distance, the Indian team played their matches at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium. The final of the ICC event was played at the same venue with empty stands and minimum fanfare.