International Women’s Day is a day celebrated annually to celebrate achievements by women across the world. It is celebrated on March 08. The United Nations signifies it as a day for Women Rights and International Peace.

We celebrate young sportswomen who have made India proud in their respective sports.

Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur plays as an all-rounder in the Indian Women Cricket squad. She made her ODI debut against Pakistan in 2009 Women’s World Cup and grabbed a wicket in the match. She performed notably in the coming years and led the Indian Women Cricket Team in 2012 Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup final. She scored her first ODI century in a match against England in 2013 and scored another in the same year against Bangladesh.

Born in Moga, Kaur started playing cricket while she was studying at Gyan Jyoti School Academy. Following her outstanding performance in the Women’s World Cup 2017, she was offered the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police by Punjab Government which she accepted and took charge in March 2018.

Co-incidently, Kaur was born on March 8, 1989.

Navjot Kaur

Navjot Kaur is an Indian wrestler who represented India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she bagged a bronze medal. In March 2018, she became the first ever Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Senior Asian Championship. She beat Japanese wrestler Miya Imai with a one-sided score of 9-1.

Notably, Navjot’s training was funded by his father Sukhchain Singh who borrowed Rs. 13 lakh from over the years. She made her father’s efforts come to fruition with her historic win at the Senior Asian Championship. Unfortunately, she wasn’t supported by the government when she was out of the ring for almost two years due to a waist injury. All of her treatment expenses were borne by her father.

Manu Bhaker

Sixteen-year-old Manu Bhaker made her country India proud with winning a gold medal at Women’s 10m Air Pistol at International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage in Mexico’s Guadalajara in March 2018. She defeated two-time World Cup Finals winner Alejandra Zavala from Mexico. Her extraordinary achievement has proved that all women need is an equal chance.

India, as a developing nation, needs to make women a part of its journey towards being a developed nation. With such talented women, India can scale great heights if females are provided opportunities to prove themselves.