I Was Insulted And Abused Many Times During My Childhood, Says Harmanpreet Kaur
Aug 5, 2017 at 11:49 AM
Harmanpreet Kaur might have become the toast of the nation for her stunning batting exploits in the recently-concluded World Cup but the journey of realising her dream of donning the famous blue jersey was not an easy one.
The 28-year old starred for India in England where the Women in Blue fell just 9 runs short of clinching a historic World Cup title. After some indifferent performances in the first six games of the tournament, she regained her form in the do-or-die clash against New Zealand, scoring 60 to help India win the match by a whopping margin of 186 runs. In the following game which was the semifinal against defending champions Australia, she slammed a stunning 171 off just 115 balls. In the final too, she scored 51 but could not take India over the line.
And it seems she is only reaping the rewards for the ordeals she faced during her childhood when she used to play with the boys. The batting star revealed that she was insulted and abused on several occasions when she used to play with the boys before saying that the Phogat family (known for the women wrestlers) inspires her.
“I used to play with the boys in my childhood where I was insulted and abused many times. The Phogat family always inspires me. But at the end of the day I am glad that along with them I too got recognition after my struggle in a different sport,” said Harmanpreet Kaur in an interview.
The hard-hitting batswoman further said that she idolises legendary opener Virender Sehwag who according to her is the most exciting and aggressive player in the world.
“I can think of no one else other than Virender Sehwag. With due respect to all other cricketers, there is no one as exciting and as aggressive as him. I try to follow him and am a die-hard fan of him. I was overwhelmed when he congratulated me after my special knock,” she said.
She also spoke about the incident which happened during the semifinal clash against Australia when a misunderstanding with Deepti Sharma made her so furious that she slammed her helmet on the ground.
“Yes, I am a bit hot-headed as we belong from a Punjabi family. I was batting on 99 and I took 2 runs when the incident happened. I completed my century with the first run and then I showed anger as if either of us would have been out then the match would have gone to the hands of Australia. However, all those are past and the matter ended there,” she said.