Jhulan Goswami said women’s cricket in Olympics will be a wonderful idea. (Source: Reuters)
As a sportsperson and the struggles that an athlete faces, all the sportsperson in India can relate to India’s new Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, India cricketer Jhulan Goswami said on Monday. She also added that he can take India to new heights in sports.
“Being a sportsperson, we can all relate to him and I’m so excited,” Goswami told PTI. “He has gone through the same struggle and is very much aware of the difficulties faced by an athlete…what it takes to win a medal at the highest level,” she added.
Rathore, who won an Olympic silver medal in 2004 Athens Games, is the first sportsperson who has been appointed as the Sports Minister of the country.
“We definitely hope that he will improve the infrastructure and ensure a better upkeep of the existing facilities to take Indian sport to new heights,” she said.
Women’s cricket was dropped from Commonwealth Games but Goswami said women’s cricket in Olympics will be a wonderful idea as the whole world will look forward to it.
“I am not aware of any development. But it would be a wonderful idea to have women’s cricket in Olympics, something the whole world looks forward to,” she said.
Remembering her childhood coach Swapan Sadhu, the leading wicket-taker in women’s cricket that it was difficult to reveal it to her parents that she wanted to make a career in cricket.
“When I first told my parents about my passion for the game it was like ‘Hiroshima-Nagasaki atomic bombings’ at home but my coach convinced my parents.
“At that time, women’s cricket was not heard of by many. I’m here because of his foresight and untiring dedication for the sport. He felt women should have their own identity,” Jhulan, whose journey had begun from the Vivekananda Park, said.
