India has been experiencing major growth in women's sports in recent years. This is being fuelled by investment from both the public and private sector – as well as many role models.
Apart from cricket,India has long been seen as an underachiever on the international sporting stage, as demonstrated by a 71st ranking in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, a surge in the participation of women in a wide range of sports could help change this.
The number of registered women football players in India grew from 8,683 in 2016 to 37,829 last year. Participation in national javelin championships rose from 31 juniors in 2019 to 137, while in shooting, the number of female competitors jumped from 1,033 to 2,181 over the same period. At the Asian Games, women won just 36% of India's medals in 2002; by 2023, that share had climbed to 43%.
Taruka Srivastava, who represented India in tennis at the 2010 Asian Games, has witnessed these changes first hand.
"If you look at the Paris Olympics and the athletes that
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