The difference is just a win in the final. But it can throw 20 years into oblivion. Describing the cruelty of how a loss in finals of World Cups get forgotten quickly, the 2005 coach Sudha Shah spoke of how different things were after her team lost the final.
Talking to abc.net.au (Aus), Shah recalled what happened after India lost to Australia by 98 runs in the final played at Centurion, South Africa. “At that time, nobody in India even knew the Women’s World Cup was happening in South Africa,” she told ABC.
All the hard work could come to nought not because their struggles were any less, or their efforts less inspiring, but because the end wasn’t a win.
“My team did extremely well and players were in good form. They worked really hard for two years to prepare for that but unfortunately we lost the final,” she said.
It had ended in an almost sad movie like scene. Hailing an auto-rickshaw and going home to nurse a heart nobody even noticed had broken.
“I landed in Mumbai after losing the final and quietly took an auto-rickshaw to go home. No-one even noticed.”
It was why the win over Australia by Jemimah Rodrigues and Harman’s team brought glee to Shah after that quiet journey gen-leapt and turned into a victory parade.
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“I can see a lot more girls coming to play cricket now,” she told ABC.
“They have better facilities, better pay, better respect — things will only get better. Nothing succeeds like success.”
A near 40000 fan final at DY Patil had s team supported by 17 support staff.
“Back then, we just had a coach, manager, physio and trainer,” Shah added.
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“Today’s players can focus entirely on their game — and it shows.”
The turning point, the ABC piece said, came after the 2017 World Cup, when India reached the second final at Lord’s but lost to England. HARMAN though scored an unforgettable 171 beating Australia.
The news has trickled out to non cricket countries too, and French media France 24 in their English show, alongside Mamdani’s NY win, celebrated the Indian women. “It’s quite a surprise I didn’t know. Hyperboles are present in Indian sports newspapers today. Defining moment. Historic. Well deserved feat by beating South Africa. They lifted cup of their dreams,” the TV presenter said. NYT it had been the hardest, highest glass ceiling. “Cricket is watched by every household in 1.4 billion strong country population. Sport generates millions in revenue. And cricketers are idols given god like status. Upto now though it was mostly reserved for male cricketers. Four decades ago they won the men’s cricket World Cup popularising the game in the country. Now women might change it for whole world,” she added.
