DESTINY'S CHILDREN

Training sessions aced, medals earned, records smashed-India's sportswomen have followed the script for success to the letter. In a country that has hitherto placed its male sports stars on a grand pedestal, it's the women who have racked up a list of achievements which has now grown too long to ignore.

- SADAF SHAIKH

When she was only 18, RanchiW born Deepika Kumari was christened World No. 1 in archery after winning her first individual gold at the 2012 Archery World Cup. Two years prior, she had opened her sporting account with twin golds at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and four years later, she won another gold at the 2018 World Cup in addition to starring in her own Netflix documentary, Ladies First. In 2018, an 18-year-old Assamese sprinter named Hima Das created history far from Indian shores when she bagged gold at the International Association of Athletics Federations U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. It earned her the distinction of becoming the first Indian athlete to win a medal at any track event at the World Athletics Championships, and only the second Indian to clinch the gold after javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's victory at the biennial competition. Today, alongside training for upcoming races, Das also serves as the deputy superintendent of Assam Police. When Maana Patel broke the national record for the 200m backstroke at the age of 13, her ultimate goal was to eventually represent her country at the most prestigious global sporting event, a dream that came to pass when she became the first Indian female swimmer to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Tania Sachdev needs little introduction: after being conferred the title of Woman Grandmaster in 2005, she won the Women's Asian Chess Championship in 2007, became an International Master the following year and was presented with the Arjuna Award in 2009. Together, these sportswomen have fought tooth and nail to pave a path for themselves and others like them in a field that has historically turned women away at the door.