India’s ‘Super Mom’ going to present challenge in Asian Games

Returning to work after giving birth to a child is a tough task for any mother but a large number of Indian female players are now breaking the stereotype by continuing to compete. In India, the most famous ‘super moms’ who continued sports after becoming mothers are perhaps legendary boxer Mary Kom and six-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza.

PTI takes a look at the Indian mothers who will compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, starting on September 23.

Deepika Pallikal (Squash): The ‘poster girl’ of Indian squash Deepika Pallikal has been consistently performing well for the country. She, along with Joshna Chinappa, won India’s first gold medal in squash at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. Her other achievements include becoming the first Indian woman to break into the top 10 in the world rankings and winning multiple medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Twin boys – Kabir and Zayan were born to her and her husband, Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik, in October 2021. A few months later, Deepika returned to the squash court and won a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Deepika is expected to compete in the mixed doubles event at the Hangzhou Asian Games and this will probably be her last Asian Games.

Koneru Humpy (Chess): This Grandmaster is one of the best chess players of India. She became the youngest woman to achieve the Grandmaster title in 2002 at the age of 15 years, one month, 27 days, and the second woman to surpass 2600 ELO rating points. Humpy gave birth to her daughter Ahana in 2017 after which she took a maternity break. She made a comeback after two years to become the Women’s World Rapid Champion in 2019 and finished runner-up at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2019–21 season. The 36-year-old player will compete in the singles as well as team events in Hangzhou. Harika

Dronavalli (chess): This Indian is a three-time medalist of the Grandmaster World Championships. This 32-year-old player is an inspiration for women around the world. Last year, Harika played in the high-pressure tournament Chess Olympiad in the ninth month of pregnancy. To prepare for the Asian Games, she will connect with her teammates online during preparation camps. Along with Humpy, R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni, Harika won the bronze medal in the women’s team event at the Chess Olympiad, India’s first medal in the women’s category. A few days later, their daughter Hanvika was born. She would like to add another Asian Games medal to her individual bronze medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

Manpreet Kaur (shot put): Manpreet Kaur will participate in the women’s shot put event. National record holder Manpreet represented India in the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. She then took a three-year break for her marriage and the birth of her daughter Jasnoor. She returned to competitive competitions in 2016 and became the only Indian woman to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics in her sport. Manpreet was given a four-year doping ban in July 2017. But she made a strong comeback last year and not only broke her national record by throwing the shot put to a distance of 18.06 meters but also became the first Indian female player to cross the distance of 18 meters in shot put.

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