5 state girls played key role in kabaddi World Cup triumph

Himachal played a key role in India's triumph in the women's Kabaddi World Cup in Dhaka on Monday, what with as many as five girls, including skipper Ritu Negi and vice-captain Pushpa Rana, hailing from the hill state. "It's a matter of great pride that five of our girls were part of the World Cup winning team," said Rajkumar Bharanta, president of the state kabaddi association.

"The team won the World Cup without losing a single match in the tournament," he said. Sakshi Sharma, Bhawna and Champa were the other three players in the team from the state.

While lauding the players for winning the World Cup, Bharanta urged the government to reward the players with cash awards and jobs. "The government has announced Rs 1 crore cash award for Renuka Thakur, who was part of the team that won the cricket world cup. Similarly, the government should announce award for these girls as well," said Bharanta. "While Ritu Negi is employed with the Railways, the other four do not have jobs," said Bharanta.

He further said that Himachal had been dominating the national kabaddi landscape for the last few years due to the efforts of these girls. "We have been winning medals regularly in the nationals for the last five-six years. We won gold in the last National Games held in Uttarakhand as well," said Bharanta.

Spelling out the reason behind the dominance of the Himachal girls in both national and international events, Bharanta said the sports hostels, SAI centres and genuine selection were the reasons behind this huge success.