10 Powerful Sportswomen Who Made India Proud in 2018
We live in a society where women live by innumerable social taboos, stay deprived of their rights, freedom is yet to become their best friend, and age-old biases are still scratching parents' memory. The story is the same for every household in India except a few.
Before living their dreams, first, they wrestle with their parents' thinking, then society's myths, and if they are lucky enough to cross these barriers, then self-doubts. Like, whether they would be able to live up to their dreams or not, if not, then how severe will be the consequences? Will she be able to get her respect back, or else, she has to deal it all alone?
"You have to be fearless to have success" - Serena Williams, Tennis Star
On the flip side, if she does well and becomes successful, everyone would turn up to share the joy, and if not, all will back out, leaving her in the middle of nowhere. Such is the environment they are growing in.
Living by so many insecurities, sports find its place at the bottom of the pipeline. Most of the parents are yet to believe in the power of sports. They usually find no degree of correlation between girls and sports. Somehow, If the girl gathers some courage and wants to pursue sports, she is advised to drop the plan at first. Or if she insists more, she is threatened to take some other route.
"Having a girl is a plus, not a minus" - Sania Mirza, Tennis Player
But despite facing such challenges in their early lives, going beyond the conventional, breaking all social boundaries, and chiselling out their own path, some of India's finest sportswomen have encountered them all en route to the top.
We are talking about India's top 10 women athletes who made us all proud of their achievements in 2018. Let's have a look at their journey so far.
#10 Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting,48Kg)
Mirabai Chanu, the Indian weightlifter, is one of India's brightest medal prospects at 2020 Olympics. And there is an interesting story behind it.
Mirabai Chanu came into limelight when she won a silver medal in 48Kg at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games 2014. It was her first major breakthrough at the International stage. She was just 20-years-old then.
Chanu couldn't carry on her fine form into 2016 Rio Olympics, as she failed to lift the weight. In 2017, she came back strong and proved herself at the World Championships. She equalled the championship record, i.e.194 Kg, in total and secured gold medal.
2018, the year when Mirabai Chanu made the world believe in her sheer lifting power. She broke the games record in her weight category; 48Kg and went on to win the first gold medal for India in CWG 2018. Mirabai lifted 196 Kg in total.
For her fantastic performance at CWG'18, she was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna as well as with Padma Shri by thIndian Government.
She couldn't represent India at the Asian Games due to a career-threatening injury. But as of now, she is recovered and gunning for gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.