After putting up a gallant show at the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics, people at home hailed India's girl power as they bagged three out of the seven medals at the showpiece event. It all started with Saikhom Mirabai Chanu bagging the silver medal in weightlifting, followed by feats of boxer Lovlina Borgohain and shuttler PV Sindhu, who finished the campaign with bronze on their neck.


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While the three female athletes accounted for India's three medals, many others such as golfer Aditi Ashok, the Indian women's hockey team led by Rani Rampal also enjoyed their moment of success despite missing out on a podium finish.  


Former India women's cricket captain Anjum Chopra lauded the spirited show put up by our girls at Tokyo. However, the 44-year-old feels that its time that people stop making references like 'women in sports', and rather identify it from a 'gender neutral' perspective.


"I am happy with the fact that women have contributed so much but for me, it's about India and not about the gender. And for women to rise and lead the way, I think there's a strong message.
We talk about women sports or women in sports but it's more about understanding, realising, and giving respect. The time has arrived we start identifying sport as gender-neutral and not only a male domain," the ex-cricketer, who has featured in 127 ODIs for India, said in an exclusive interview with zeenews.india.com.


Anjum, who is regarded by many as the torchbearer of women's participation in sports, also heaped praises about the five cricketers - Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma, and Deepti Sharma - for their splendid show in The Hundred.


The former India captain feels an experience such as this would be beneficial for both, those taking part and also the ones who are not part of the tournament. She feels the experience gained can come handy, when the unit regroups for their upcoming series against Australia and also during their tour to England, scheduled for next year.


"If you're playing competitive cricket, whether in India or outside it will help. The best practice is match practice and I'm hoping this experience and this exposure will help one and all. Those players who are playing in 'The Hundred' and those who are back at home," added Anjum.  


While Australia and now, England have adopted a full-fledged women's league running simultaneously with the men's, the BCCI, inarguably the powerhouse of cricket, is yet to come up with such an initiative. However, Anjum feels that the Indian cricket board has started taking baby steps towards that direction and considers the exhibition T20 matches, which are often played between the play-off gaps in the Indian Premier League, as a 'promising sign'.


"In my view, we are making progress. We had one match in 2018; then in 2019, we had four games. As long as the number of matches and teams are increasing, it's a promising sign and in near future, a full-fledged Women's IPL league could become a reality," Anjum said while sharing her views in this regard.


"It's about the authorities having the right amount of confidence to initiate a big league like the IPL," she said.