Sakshi Malik’s bronze medal win at the Rio Olympics women’s wrestling has pleased former India cricket captain Kapil Dev.
Speaking to TheHindu on the sidelines of the 2016 kabaddi World Cup, Kapil said people’s perception of girls and women taking part in sporting activities should change.
“So much has written about the girl child in Haryana, Punjab and certain other States. After what happened at Rio, we should be proud of them (P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar). I think some people have wrong notions about boys doing better than the girls.
“I think we all have to understand that women are the strength of any organisation, any country, because they are stable, sensible and dedicated. And this Olympics has shown that,” he said.
Kapil said: “Only a handful of girls play sport in our country and they win medals. How many girls in India play badminton, 300 perhaps at the highest level. How many girls in India play tennis, maybe 1000 at the highest level. And wrestling…not even 300 girls. And they win medals at the Olympics. It has touched everybody’s heart.’’
Educated women’s roleKapil feels that children of educated women will always do well in life and sport. “If we can give more time to the girls and women, we will be a better nation, better sports-playing country. If the mother is educated, her kids will be educated. You may have a brilliant educated father and the mother, not educated; in this case their kids can be uneducated. But if women are educated in a house, it will be impossible for the next generation not to be educated. Similarly if the women take interest in sports, I think the next generation will get into sports.’’
When asked if Sakshi’s medal win at Rio will trigger interest in sports in Haryana and elsewhere in India, Kapil said: “It’s not about girls getting into sports, but also the facilities that is provided to them. They have to come out and play. We have to respect the women in our society. No sport is a male sport. The world is changing; we have to encourage the girls to come out and play.’’