Amid the joy and celebrations of India’s Women’s World Cup win, it was noted by fans that opener Pratika Rawal, who had missed the semi-final and final due to injury, has not got a winner’s medal. Rawal has said in an interview with PTI that she had been lent a medal by one of the support staff members but her own trinket is on its way.
“I have my own medal now. One of the support staff had lent me theirs temporarily because mine hadn’t reached on time. Jay sir (ICC chairman Jay Shah) has sent me a medal, someone told me. I was so happy but people made a big deal of it online, it will take some time but will come to me,” she is quoted as saying by PTI.
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rule stated that once a player was withdrawn from the squad, they would no longer be considered for a medal and with Rawal having been replaced by Shafali Verma, she did not receive one along with the rest of the team. However, there was one hanging around her neck when she along with captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the rest of her teammates, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Rawal sustained the injury while fielding during India’s final league stage match against Bangladesh. The game was only a dead rubber, with India having already qualified for the semi-final and Bangladesh having been knocked out moreover, it ended up being washed out as well. The 25-year-old explained how having a Bachelors’ degree in psychology helped her deal with the crushing blow.
“I should not say I am a psychologist yet because I haven’t completed my Masters’ degree,” she smiled. “But as someone who has studied psychology, it really helped me to understand human emotions better – including my own. The first thing is to accept what’s happened. You can’t undo it. Once I accepted the injury, I focused only on what I could control – recovery, sleep, nutrition, and supporting the team.” That pragmatic approach, she said, prevented her of suffering from self-pity.
“There was disappointment, yes, but no breakdown. My dad was there, my coach (Shravan Kumar) kept checking on me, my mom and brother called every day. I have such a good support system. They didn’t let me spiral or feel alone,” she said.
Before that injury, though, Rawal was India’s second highest run scorer by a tiny margin, only behind Smriti Mandhana with whom she had formed a formidable opening partnership. Rawal finished the tournament with 308 runs in seven matches at an aveage of 51.33 with a century and a half-century.
