Narendra Modi advises Indian women's cricket team not to be burdened by their World Cup final loss

Narendra Modi advises Indian women's cricket team not to be burdened by their World Cup final loss

no photo

|

Getty Images

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised the Indian women’s team not to be burdened by their loss to England in the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup earlier this month. Modi also reminded the women’s team that they had won the hearts of the entire nation, despite not winning the world cup.

The Indian women’s cricket team enjoyed a splendid run in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup in England and Wales as they beat the mighty Australian side in the semifinals to book a finals berth against England. And even on the biggest stage of them all, they managed to give a very good account of themselves in a tightly contested final, but they eventually fell short by nine runs.

But most importantly, the Indian women’s team had managed to capture the imagination of the entire nation and this was reiterated to them by none other than Narendra Modi as he hosted a felicitation for them at his residence in New Delhi.

During his address to the team at the event, Modi advised the Indian women's cricket team not to feel burdened by the World Cup final defeat since they had the backing of the nation. "I felt happy talking to them, but I had a feeling that they felt burdened by the fact that they could not win the World Cup. This stress, this tension was evident on their faces also," Modi recalled during his 'Mann Ki Baat' address.

"I said, "Look, this is the age of the media. So expectations get hyped up to such an extent that if corresponding success is not achieved, these turn into despair and even resentment," Modi added.

What makes the Indian women’s team’s achievement remarkable is that they exceeded expectations by making it to the final and the Indian Prime Minister heaped praise on them for what they had managed to accomplish. "But it happened for the first time that when our daughters did not succeed in winning the World Cup, the hundred and twenty-five million people took this defeat on their own shoulders, never letting the burden weigh down these daughters of ours.”

"Not only this, they lauded them and showered them with high praise for their brilliant performance. I view this as a healthy and pleasant change and I told these daughters that only they were blessed with such good fortune, and hence they should banish any thought of not having been successful. You may not have won the final match but you have won the hearts of 1.25 billion Indians," he added.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all