Indian women’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the words of encouragement he shared with them after their 2017 World Cup final loss to England, saying his motivation helped them work harder and finally lift their maiden trophy.
Prime Minister Modi met and interacted with the country’s Women’s World Cup-winning contingent at his residence on Wednesday.
During the interaction, Kaur told the Prime Minister, “Sir, I still remember when we met you back in 2017. At that time, we hadn’t brought the trophy home, but today it’s a great honour for us to present to you the trophy we’ve been working hard for all these years. You’ve doubled our happiness today, and it truly means a lot to us. And today, after finally winning the trophy, it felt amazing to talk to you again.”
“Our aim now is that in the future, we continue to meet you again and again and keep taking pictures with you and the team,” the Indian skipper added.
In response, PM Modi said, “You all have really done something incredible. In India, cricket is not just a sport — it has become a way of life for the people. When cricket goes well, the whole of India feels good. And if things go even slightly wrong, the whole country gets shaken. Even when you lost three matches in a row, there was trolling, and everyone started criticising you.”
Mandhana, who was also part of the Indian contingent that met PM Modi after the 2017 World Cup loss to England, thanked the Prime Minister for his continued motivation.
“When we met you in 2017, we were unable to bring the trophy. I remember we asked you a question about your expectations, and your answer helped us a lot. In the next six to seven years, we tried many times, but there were heartbreaks at the World Cups. It was in our destiny that India’s first Women’s World Cup would be won at home,” Mandhana said.
“You have always been our inspiration. We are seeing women excel these days — in ISRO and many other fields. Whenever we see this, it inspires and motivates us to do better and encourage other girls to dream big,” she added.
The Indian women’s team lifted their first-ever ICC trophy on Sunday after defeating South Africa by 52 runs in the final at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.