Women's Day 2025: Small-town Athletes Lalita Thakur, Priya Bansal Emerge As Role Models

Women's Day 2025: Small-town athletes Lalita Thakur, Priya Bansal emerge as role models (Image Source: IANS)

Lalita Thakur: As the country prepares to celebrate International Women’s Day on Saturday, a couple of women sportspersons speaking to IANS elicited a common view about the changing dynamics and discourse in the country, particularly towards females.

They said that today, women have not only unshackled themselves from societal barriers but are also going for the sky.

Kabaddi player Lalita Thakur and Rugy player Priya Bansal shared about what they are doing personally to uplift the women of their localities.

Lalita Thakur, a native of Himachal Pradesh and a Kabaddi player by profession, trains many girls at her fitness centre.

Having won many medals herself, she is working to transfer the skills and techniques of the game to the next generation.

“I train the girls to maintain fitness. I motivate them to move forward with hard work.

Talking about her journey, she said, "I started playing Kabaddi in 2008. I faced injuries and other challenges many times, but one should never run away from hard work and never compromise on self-respect."

Priya Bansal, a well-known rugby player for the past 10 years and having participated in Asian level competitions, is currently working as a teacher.

Talking to IANS, she spoke about her challenges and how she overcame them, "We started playing in 2011. At that time, there was no one to encourage us. The family background was such that we were not allowed to wear shorts and make friends. We were not allowed to go out,” she said.

She further said, “When I started playing and got selected for the tournament, I was asked to get married. At that time, I had two options: one, marriage and the other, selection in the team. But I stuck to my decision and represented Team India. It was a completely life-changing moment."

“Along with the support of the family, the government also plays a huge role. When we started, nobody knew about rugby," she said.

She further said, “When I started playing and got selected for the tournament, I was asked to get married. At that time, I had two options: one, marriage and the other, selection in the team. But I stuck to my decision and represented Team India. It was a completely life-changing moment."

Article Source: IANS