With the Indian ladies’s cricket staff returning with a silver medal from Birmingham Commonwealth Games, it was time for the households of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, all-rounder Harleen Deol and wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia to provide a rousing welcome to their daughters on the Mohali International Airport on Wednesday night. While pacer Renuka Singh’s household from Parsa village close to Rohru in Himachal Pradesh couldn’t come to Chandigarh, the households of the opposite three cricketers welcomed Renuka at Mohali.
“It feels special to see the silver medal around Harmanpreet’s neck and it’s a special feeling for all her team-mates too. We were a bit disappointed to see them lose against Australia in the final but then this silver medal is a historic medal too for India. The Indian women’s cricket team competed in the Commonwealth Games for the first time and to see the Indian flag rise made us emotional,” mentioned Harmander Bhullar, father of Harmanpreet Kaur, who was additionally accompanied by spouse Satwinder Kaur.
While Harmanpreet was the sixth highest scorer within the Games, with a complete of 137 runs together with a preventing knock of 65 runs within the last towards Australia, the 33-year-old Moga cricketer additionally picked up one wicket within the match.
Though the Indian ladies’s staff misplaced the ultimate by 9 runs, it was solely the second time that an Indian cricket staff was competing within the Games, with the primary time being in 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.
“It feels good to see everyone welcome us here. I am disappointed too because we could have won the final match. But unfortunately, luck was not in our favour. We got a chance to meet players from other sports and also met the Indian hockey team members. I am sure that more parents will motivate their daughters to play the game,” mentioned Harmanpreet.
Himachal pacer Renuka Singh Thakur, who claimed 11 wickets together with two four-wicket hauls, rued the missed possibilities
within the last however was glad the staff gained the silver medal. “We feel proud to return with a medal. It was a good experience and we played well as a unit. I would like to extend my thanks to Anurag Singh Thakur sir, who opened the HPCA Women’s Academy,” mentioned Thakur.
24-year-old wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia, who performed in three matches in Birmingham, accounted for one stumped likelihood within the last aside from contributing with different gamers in three-run outs within the match. “Right from her childhood, Taniya solely dreamt about being a wicket-keeper and it was heartening to see her play the specialised wicket-keeper function. It was unlucky that she confronted concussion within the last and couldn’t bat. I will probably be welcoming her with aarti at our residence together with my elder daughter Sanjana and my husband Sanjay Bhatia and son Sehaj, “mentioned Sapna Bhatia, mom of Taniya.
Mohali all-rounder 24-year-old Harleen Deol, an alumnus of Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, and MCM DAV College, Chandigarh, performed in India’s opening match towards Australia. While mom Charanjit Kaur Deol was ready for her daughter to come back, she additionally hugged pacer Renuka Singh. “Whenever Harleen comes back from tour or the Indian camp, she likes to spend time at home having her favourite food. It will be the same for her for the next few days as she would like to celebrate the medal with home cooked food,” mentioned Deol.
