The ICC Women's World Cup 2017 has certainly been the talking point in the country ever since the women from India smashed all records and booked their place in the final. Today the entire nation watches and supports the women cricketers as they stand one step away from creating history.
However, it wasn't as exciting and bright as it is today for the women's cricketers.
Harmanpreeet Kaur, who is currently being showered with blessings after she hammered Australia in semis for her 171*, faced a lot of hardships years ago. Kaur worked on the railways before she was tipped from Diana Edulji and Sachin Tendulkar to work in the Western Railways. The batswoman is the talk of the town as the young Punjabi lady led India to victory over Australia with her innings.
It was 7 years back when the national team player was in a dire need for a job. Kaur had applied for a post in the Punjab Police. She was a national team player then but the name never rang a bell as the Indian men's team were making all the headlines. Kaur's application was snubbed by the Punjab government.
Kaur's father Harmandar Singh Bhullar and her coach Yadwinder Sodhi recently in an interview with the Times of India as they recalled the times when the National team player was not eligible for a job in the Punjab Police.
"We had approached the Punjab Police and requested them to employ her. She had already represented India and was a regular member of the national team. We were told that there is no provision for employment in Punjab Police for female cricketers," told Kaur's father to The Times of India.
"That time a senior official in Punjab Police had told us that 'she isn't a Harbhajan Singh that we will give her a DSP post'. She wasn't even granted the post of an inspector. We even met the chief minister, but to no avail," said her coach Yadwinder Sodhi. "Not a single political party or their representative has ever visited our home since 2009 when Harmanpreet began to win laurels for the country. The least the last Akali Dal government or Congress government could have done is gave Harmanpreet a job," Harmandar Singh Bhullar said.
As times change and heal, Harmanpreet Kaur has made the entire nation proud with her performance.
