Common Wealth Games 2010: Indian Women Athletes steal the thunder from Men

We are nearing the end of Common Wealth Games New Delhi 2010. India is clinging on to the second spot just ahead of England who have a real chance to surpass us in the remaining events. If India has managed to stay on second rung so far and if it stays so till the end, it will be due to a spectacular show by the Sportswomen of the country who have out shown and out performed their male counterparts. This women coming from diverse backgrounds (One gold medalist is not yet an adult and is daughter of a auto driver from a small town. The other history creator is mother of a9 yr old)have come up trumps against all odds. And not just in Tennis or Badminton, they have stormed the erstwhile male bastions like wrestling and Weightlifting too. This is not to berate the performance of the Men athletes and frankly Sports achievement for the country should have no gender bias. While playing for the country no one’s achievement can be lesser or more than other. But the heart warming show by the Indian women in the games does require a special mention and a round of cheers from one and all. And in doing so they have aimed at, threw out, shot down , punched, laughed at all the negativism, stereotyping, discrimination at one go. They are a feminist’s delight, these girls. And don’t you rub them the wrong way. They are hard as it comes, tough as nails women. While the naysayers would question the absence of top stars and level of competition in the field, let’s tell them to go take a walk for now. The moment belongs to the ladies; let them bask in the glory.

Here’s taking a look at the some stellar performances by the Indian Superwomen.

As if Krishna Poonia’s Gold in Discus throw to end a 52 year drought in Track and Field events was not enough.

The Super Mom

Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil’s silver and bronze were like icing to the cake. In doing so Poonia kept up the promise she made her 9 yr old son to bring home the gold.

A day later the 4X400 Women relay team threw the nation into a frenzy when Manjit Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini and Mandeep Kaur ran a dream run egged on by a passionate crowd. Incidentally Indian men’s team finished last after qualifying for the finals of the same event.

The Golden Girls

Even in Wrestling events where the Indian Men reaped a record haul of gold led by Sushil Kumar, women were not far

the death grip

behind. Geeta Kumari, Alka Tomar and Anita won gold in their respective weight categories in a show case of women power literally. Wrestling generated lot of buzz and was an instant hit with the fans. These women left everybody in their awe. No messing with the power girls here.

In Archery, the way young Deepika Kumari blew her competitors away, in Women’s Recurve individual was mesmerizing. This 17 yr girl of humble background is lovingly called Baby Archer. She later combined with her idol the veteran Dola Banerjee and Bombayala Devi to win the team event of Women’s Recurve event as well.

The Modern William Tell?

Shooting has been in limelight in recent years thanks to the Olympic medals, the heavyweights like Bindra, Gagan

Bulls' eye

Narang and Manvajit Sandhu were supposed to rule the roost, which they did to a large extent. But the real surprise has been the medals won by the women contingent. Anisa Sayeed and Rahi Sarnobat started with a Gold in 25m Pistol(Pairs) followed by Tejaswani Sawant and Lajjakumari’s Silver in 50m Rifle 3 Positions( Pairs) on the very first day of shooting event. Anisa and Rahi then did a 1-2 in 25m Pistol the next day. Heena and Annu Singh clinched another gold in 10m Air Pistol(Pairs). These girls sure know to hit the target.

Strong Woman

In weightlifting Indian women has been world beater for long. CWG games were not a very happy outing for the wrestling contingent. They could get only 3 Gold but the good news was that there was no reported dope offence, something that has threatened the very root of the sport.Renu Bala Chanu, Soniya Chanu , Sandhya Rani have taken on from where Kunjurani devi and Karnam Malleswari left. It is one discipline where medals are expected in Asian Games as well as Olympics.

Saina Nehwal has lived up to her billing and is all set to play for the Gold in Women’s Badminton Singles. Nothing less than gold for this lass who is our brightest medal prospect in Olympics. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponaapa have qualified for the Women Doubles finals as well.

This ain’t over yet. The medals are ensured. Which color is the only question? Looking at the trend, Yellow seems to be the favorite of these marvelous ladies. They deserve a standing ovation from the Nation. Here’s to the women Power.