00:00Joining me now is another special guest. I am joined by one of the iconic figures of sport
00:05and women's sport in particular in this country, Sanya Mirza, Grand Slam winner on multiple
00:11occasions, four-time Olympian, number one in world doubles tennis. Appreciate your joining us,
00:19Sanya. Like you, the women of cricket have become trendsetters. What does it feel like
00:27when you know that India is the world champion now in women's cricket? For you as a sports person,
00:34as an Indian, what did that moment feel like? No, first of all, congratulations to all of us
00:42and to our great country. But I think that what the women have done for us today just shows
00:50the kind of sacrifice and the commitment that's been going on for the last 25, 30 years. And I'm
00:56so glad to see that the recognition, the stands full. You know, there was a question that was
01:02asked to Harmanpreet saying, oh, usually you guys don't have in the press conference, usually you
01:07guys don't have so much of ticket issues, right? But I'm sure at this time, you know, like the men
01:15cricketers usually do. And it's so good to hear that she also has those issues. And it's truly what
01:21an incredibly amazing moment for all of us. And honestly, as a female athlete coming from India,
01:29this does feel personal. And I know it's not personal, but it just does feel so personal.
01:39You know, because you, as I said, also broke a glass ceiling in a way by competing and winning in
01:45grand slams. Is that part of the attraction you think of women's sport in India? Because what you
01:51do is you break prejudice and you break barriers. Is that how you also felt when you won? And do you
01:58think a similar feeling is what you felt yesterday watching the women win?
02:03You know, honestly, that's not what you feel when you win. What you feel is proud. We as female
02:10athletes have been trying for many, many generations, I should say to try to make a mark. And you know,
02:17there's always a there's one that happens. And then we don't hear of incredible women athletes,
02:23maybe because of the kind of acknowledgement they receive is not as much as the others do. But this
02:31to happen the way it's happened at the world stage World Cup happening in India, India winning, I mean,
02:37these are what great stories and dreams are made of. And you can see it on the faces of all these
02:44young girls. But I did see a video on social media, which was actually really heartening to see
02:50the the cricketers, the women cricketers that had played there was Mithali Raj, you know, in that and
02:59Anjum Chopra and everybody was like almost saying thank you and holding up the trophy. And, you know,
03:06they were lifting it up like they had one. And that's how personal it feels for everyone. So you
03:12don't really feel Oh, my God, we've broken a glass thing. What you do feel is extremely proud. You feel
03:16extremely honored to be in that position. And and, you know, just it's a matter of great pride to be
03:22able to hold that trophy be world champions. And and yeah, I mean, the scenes and those pictures say it
03:29all. Is it easier today, you think that it was 20 years ago, when you started off? Do you think
03:38because of aspirational levels, there's far more money in sport, even in women's sport? Do you think
03:44it becomes easier to fulfill your dreams today than it was 2025 years ago? Yeah, I think so. I think that
03:52I don't know if it's easier in terms of effort, effort is still the same, but it's definitely easier in terms
03:57of the belief. You know, it's always hard to be the first to do things. And because there's no
04:03actually pathway to follow. And there's not really, you know, you don't really, you make your own
04:08mistakes, you learn from your own mistakes, and then you, you know, succeed sometimes. But I feel
04:14that today, there's, when you say women's cricket, when you say a female athlete, when you say a world
04:20champion from India, who's who's a female, in any sport, I think people take it seriously. And when you
04:27when you when a young girl or young kid tells their parent that I want to be Smriti Mandana,
04:33I want to be Sanya Mirza, I want to be TV Sindhu or Mary Com, the parents don't say it's a ridiculous
04:41dream. I think today they say that yes, you can do it. So I do feel that that that mentality has kind
04:48of shifted. And that's why we will also see more young girls playing more young girls becoming
04:53champions. And, you know, India on the world map.
05:00You made an important point, because your parents were hugely supportive,
05:03through good times and bad. Do you believe that's the key? I'm, you know, many of these girls have
05:09come from small towns, their parents have sacrificed a lot. That seems to be one of the big changes that
05:15it is almost as if today, having a girl child who wants to play sport, the parents are playing an
05:23important role in encouraging them to play sport, in comparison to 20-25 years ago.
05:29See, I think the thing is that that was always the case. But, you know, because of the lack of
05:34lack of opportunity, lack of acknowledgement, lack of, you know, just the belief that the parents
05:43actually believe that, oh, my God, my child can play cricket or play tennis or play whatever they
05:47want, and be professional at it, and actually earn a living from it, or get recognition from it, and
05:53play for the country for it. I don't think that belief existed before. And my parents, obviously, you
05:58know, we're talking about over 30 years ago, where they believed that and they were probably a minority
06:03at that point, to come out and say that no matter what, we don't really don't care, you know, we're
06:09playing for the love of it. And people at that point, just actually played for the love of sport,
06:14the recognition and the TV and the money and everything else comes much, much, much later,
06:19if at all. So but today, things have changed. I mean, you see big hoardings, billboards, ads,
06:26you see all a lot of female athletes on them from all different genres of sport. And I think that today,
06:33parents believe that my child, you know, my child can become a professional athlete, and that can
06:41bring and it won't be a waste of time. And sport is not just for boys anymore.
06:50One final word, what do you want to say to the team? Is there a special message that you have for
06:56Harman, Preet and the entire team? Oh, my gosh, I just want to say congratulations to all of them. I got to
07:01spend some time with a few of them on the team a couple of years ago. And it was so incredible to
07:06actually hear stories from them about where they've come from, how they started playing cricket. And I
07:13just want to say that you've made the entire nation proud, needless to say, but as a fellow female
07:19athlete, this feels personal. And thank you for doing this for us and for our country.
07:25Sania Mirza, as I said, you've also been one of the trendsetters and pathbreakers for you to join us
07:36on this very special day is also special. So thank you very much for your contribution. And of course,
07:42to the incredible women cricketers who've scaled the pinnacle of their sport. Thanks for joining us.
07:47Thank you. Thanks for having me.
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