One of the most difficult things for women athletes is to return to a sport after giving birth. But over the years, we have had some exceptional women, like MC Mary Kom, and Sania Mirza, who have proved that with exceptional determination, a comeback can be made. At this Asian Games too, there are a host of women athletes who will represent India after embracing motherhood.
Dipika Pallikal (Squash)
One of India’s top squash players, Dipika Pallikal is one of the strongest medal hopes in squash. The 2014 edition women’s doubles gold medalist was blessed with twins in October 2021, and post that won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022. She will be seen in action with Harinder Pal Sandhu in the mixed doubles and is the top seed in the competition.
Koneru Humpy (Chess)
Once a chess prodigy, Humpy is one of India’s finest chess players. She became the youngest woman ever to achieve the Grandmaster title at the age of 15 years, one month, 27 days in 2002, and became the second female to exceed the 2600 Elo rating mark. She gave birth to her daughter Ahana in 2017 following which she took a maternity break. Humpy returned two years later to become the women’s World Rapid champion in 2019 and was the runner-up in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2019-21 edition.
Harika Dronavalli (Chess)
The Indian Grandmaster is a three-time World Championship medallist. The 32-year-old Harika played in a high-pressure Chess Olympiad in her ninth month of pregnancy last year. To prepare for the event, she would join her teammates online during the preparatory camps. Alongside Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, and Bhakti Kulkarni, Harika won the women’s team bronze in Chess Olympiad — the first-ever for India in the women’s section. She had won the bronze in the individual section at the 2010 Asian Games.
Manpreet Kaur (Shot put)
The national record holder in women’s shot put has been around for a long time. In 2013, she took a three-year break after the birth of her daughter — Jasnoor. After her comeback, she made it to the 2016 Rio Olympics as well. This time Manpreet will be seen in action at the Asian Games, and had created a new national record of 18.06m just last year.
Also Read:
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- India vs Pakistan battles to look forward to at Asian Games
- Watch out for these supermoms in action for India at Asian Games
- Asian Games Opening ceremony: India’s flag-bearers in the last five editions
