Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker on Tuesday hailed the ASMITA women’s leagues, saying the government-backed programme is helping shift attitudes toward women in sport, particularly in rural India.
The shooter was speaking at the launch of ASMITA’s social media platforms, where Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse honoured six members of India’s under-20 women’s rugby team, which won a historic bronze at the Asian U-20 Championship in Rajgir, Bihar, earlier this year. Most of the squad came through ASMITA leagues, the ministry said.
Khadse said ASMITA, launched in 2021, had “created its own identity”, adding that 1,886 leagues had been held so far in partnership with national federations and state bodies. More than 214,000 women have participated across 32 sports in over 500 districts and 600 cities, including remote villages, tribal belts and border regions.
“This shows the government’s intention to bring young women into the limelight,” Khadse said, adding that social media would help expand the programme’s reach. She said India needed to create more opportunities for women at the grassroots and push all sports toward parity. “Look at cricket — they introduced equal pay for men and women. We have to try and apply the same formula to all sports.”
Bhaker, a double medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, said programmes like ASMITA and Khelo India would be key to India’s ambitions for the 2036 Olympics. “These leagues are changing mindsets, especially in rural India where women don’t come to sport naturally,” she said. “We should do everything to cheer for our girls because they can do equally well as the men.”
ASMITA (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action) operates under Khelo India’s gender-neutral initiative to boost women’s participation and identify emerging talent. The Sports Authority of India supports federations in organising leagues across age groups at zonal and national levels.
(IANS)