“I had literally got goosebumps when Neeraj Chopra got it (gold medal) in Olympics, so we have an opportunity to be there and triumph,” Smriti Mandhana had said last year before India’s Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham. “I don’t think we’ll just look for a podium finish because when the flag goes higher and the national anthem plays, it’s the best feeling.”
It was a campaign that ended with India losing the gold medal game to Australia. A year later though, the 27-year-old had her hands on the gold medal as India beat Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the Asian Games women’s final.
“It feels pretty special to contribute to the Indian tally of medals, because we don’t get to do that a lot as cricketers. Of course the Commonwealth Games (Birmingham 2022) were pretty special too. Just being part of the whole Indian contingent just feels different.”
Mandhana further added that if cricket got included in the Olympics, they would look forward to it as much as the World Cup.
There is a possibility that cricket could be included in the Olympic program for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. And Mandhana threw her weight behind the idea.
“As cricketers, we watch a lot of Olympic sports and follow all the athletes that win medals for us (India). We could experience that a little today when the national anthem played, which was a special moment because we don’t get to experience that a lot despite being athletes. It would be amazing if it (cricket at the Olympics) happened, because we would look forward to it as much as a World Cup,” she said.
Up until the final on Monday, it was Mandhana who had led the Indian team in the quarter final and the semifinal with full-time skipper Harmanpreet Kaur serving a suspension owing following her conduct at the end of the Bangladesh series India played in July.
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