Girls’ Power Roars as Indian Women Lift Cup

Hyderabad: It was Abhimanyu Singh’s line to Preeti Sabharwal in Chak De! India, a scene that holds every Indian woman’s battle for recognition. “…it’s not like when you come back, everyone will remember your name. If you win, you’ll be my wife; if you lose, you’ll still be my wife.”

Last night, when Jemimah, Harmanpreet, Deepti, Richa and others lifted the World Cup, that battle turned into a roar. The country remembered every name. The prophecy was reclaimed in real life this time.

“This victory is a tribute to Indian women who have long been underestimated, as though cricket were meant only for men,” said Venkat Sainath of the Hyderabad School Parents’ Association. “High times parents here understand that their girl child is not here just to get married; let them do something for themselves. These girls proved that they are no less than the men’s team.”

Across Hyderabad, that feeling spread faster than those fireworks and Bandhana Puphanapattu, a Class X student from Delhi Public School, Mahendra Hills, who plays for the Telangana under-17 team, said it felt “touching and unreal.” She had watched Shafali Verma bat and it was a moment she always wanted to watch on television. “Her confidence made it seem like it wasn’t even a final,” she said. And Jemimah’s semifinal knock, she added, “was the push the team needed, the kind of innings you dream about. Seeing these moments on television made me quite emotional, to be honest,” she shared.

Her words flowed into those of others who watched with the same excitement. Khushaly G., another Class X student at The Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, called the women “a source of strength, resilience and inspiration.” She had no hesitation naming them alongside Kalpana Chawla. “Women in India are contributing everywhere,” she said. “This victory is a step towards gender equality and proves how women can take up any role. Not just cricket. From villages fighting poverty to cities breaking glass ceilings, Indian women are unstoppable and we must encourage them to dream bigger.”

In concurrence with that, on a more emotional note, Challa Greeshma of Jubilee Hills Public School, who plays badminton for her school, said she cried when the final wicket fell. “Watching Team India Women win makes me believe I can wear the Indian jersey one day,” she said. “This victory shows girls like me that nothing is impossible.”

In schools this morning, teachers spoke of fielding drills and discipline instead of gender roles. The city’s feeds shimmered blue. Users who never anticipated such a celebration for the women’s cricket team wrote on social media in disbelief how Hyderabad is celebrating. Another declared that every street was “echoing with joy for our daughters’ victory.” Tank Bund lit up and another person on twitter even promised free biryani for everyone “because our Birders’ Brigade became champs.”

Through all those celebrations and fireworks, there is also a sense that something had changed in how girls would be seen, how dreams would sound inside homes. “We have to keep supporting women to take up leadership positions like this. It’s not just a trophy. It’s proof that women deserve equal opportunities everywhere,” said Kushaly, and that young girl spoke for all. This was a sense of hope that would be an answer to all Abhimanyu Singhs in the world that women who measured women’s worth by the men beside them. Girls who grew up watching that scene do not need to be remembered as someone's wife; they have names of their own, and the world will know them by heart.