7. Summary of the lesson

The lesson "Sports Stars" talks about three prominent women sports personalities, who have broken the traditional barriers and excelled in their passion. Mithali Raj is an Indian cricketer and the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals [ODIs]. From a humble start of returning balls to her brother when he played cricket to becoming the all-time leading run-scorer for India, she has come a long way. She has been conferred with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. She has inspired many young women to take up cricket and proved that cricket is not just for men.

 

Usha Rani, a cop-cum Kabaddi champion had started from a very poor background. She sold flowers for her daily living. She practised Kabaddi everyday morning whether it was rain or shine. She got selected into the police force in recognition of her excellence in the game. Despite being a police officer, she never misses a single game of Kabaddi. She won the gold medal at Asian Games when she was just \(29\) years old.

 

P.V Sindhu is one of the two Olympic medal winners of our country, in badminton. She was selected into the Top \(20\) of the Badminton World Federation when she was just \(17\) years old. She was inspired by Pullela Gopichand and joined his academy for training, where she had to travel \(56\) kilometres every day from her residence, and still be on time for practice. Such was her hard work and commitment to her practice. Apart from cash grants, she has also won the Padma Shri Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Arjuna Award from the Government of India.