BENGALURU: When Harmanpreet Kaur saw the sheer number of people at the Ultrahuman HYROX Bengaluru on April 11, she was taken aback. She was pleased that thousands were willing to train, pay attention to their bodies. "We need this awareness," she told The New Indian Express in an interview. "Sometimes," she added, "people in this country don't really train."
She badly wanted to feature in the event but had to be content with the role of cheerleader as she was laid low by illness. "I'm a bit under the weather and I don't want to take any chances because we have an important series coming up (that series against South Africa began on Friday). I really wanted to come and see but I also wanted to cheer for (PV) Sindhu." So while Sindhu took part in the mixed relay, India's World Cup-winning captain, looked on from the sidelines.
Before the event began, the 37-year-old spoke to The New Indian Express on what it means to be referred to as a world champion and the importance of creating a dynasty. Excerpts:
Have you gotten used to being called a world champion?
Yeah (smiles). It's a great change. We wanted to win the World Cup badly. We went close so many times but unfortunately weren't able to cross the line. This time we wanted to cross the line badly. And when people call you a world champion, it just feels so nice, relaxed. It's a great feeling. Grateful that this has happened in my life. Because for any sportsperson, it's very important to win titles.
In my career, I have seen many ups and downs. I wanted to see so many changes for women's cricket and we have come to a point where we feel that we are equally treated and getting all the facilities. That's always more important. When you get equal facilities, you will definitely bring results and there will be change. Credit also goes to the BCCI and Jay (Shah) sir. After that, our job was only to perform.
Whenever people mention Harmanpreet, that knock against Australia in 2017 (unbeaten 171 in the semis) comes to mind. This has surely eclipsed that day?
The most important one for me was world champion. This is the result of all the hard work for so many years and we have achieved that. It's now about being consistent and always challenging for the top honours. The T20s (in South Africa) are also very important. We are keeping ourselves fresh and ready for that and we'll do our best whenever we are on the field.
On the team now going back-to-back in terms of ICC titles with the T20 World Cup coming in June
It's very important. We wanted to cross that line. Now that we have crossed that line, we know that feeling. I know pressure is going to be there but at the same time, how we worked as a team at the last World Cup, that showed us that when we stick together and stay together, we will always do well. We have set that example and now it's about staying together, cheering together, enjoying each other's success and pushing each other whenever required. When a team works together, we can bring about the changes. It's now about playing together.
This interview was facilitated by Puma x Hyrox
