Harmanpreet will be awarded the Arjuna Award on Tuesday. (Source: Express Archive)
Indian women’s cricket team’s mainstay, Harmanpreet Kaur would be one of the 17 sports persons who will be receiving the Arjuna Award from the President of India on Tuesday and the right-handed cricketer expressed delight on receiving the honour.
“For a sportsperson, any kind of recognition from the government is welcome and it boosts your confidence. Getting Arjuna Award is a dream for any sportsperson,” Harmanpreet told PTI on the sidelines of an event.
Thanking the government of India for giving her the prestigious award Kaur suggested that this would motivate her work harder and perform better.
“I thank the government for thinking that I am worthy of this award and I am very happy for this. This will motivate me to work even better in future,” she added.
Harmanpreet who scored a terrific ton in the semi-final of the women’s World Cup against Australia earlier this year said that she wants a women’s IPL to start in near future.
“We get the opportunity to play in other leagues like women’s Big Bash League (in Australia), Kia Super League (in England). If there is women’s IPL in India, it will be very big. I think the BCCI is mulling over on this issue. I wish a women’s IPL starts in the near future,” said Kaur.
Talking about the kind of reception the women’s team got after their World Cup campaign, the Indian cricketer insisted that the response from the fans boosted team’s confidence.
“I am feeling good (to have got the adulation of the people). The people of India gave us a big reception and responded in a big way to our performance in the World Cup. We feel proud that we have performed well for the country. We hope to do even better in the times to come,” she said and added, “I hope the quantum of international matches will increase and the BCCI is having discussion on this and meetings are being held”.
