PM Modi meets India’s World Cup-winning women’s cricket team; hails their 'inspiring' victory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met India’s World Cup-winning women’s cricket team at his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, congratulating them on their victory and commending their remarkable comeback in the tournament.

The Prime Minister praised the team’s resilience after a challenging start to the World Cup, where they faced three early defeats and social media trolling before turning the campaign around to lift the trophy.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur recalled their previous meeting with the Prime Minister in 2017, saying that while they had met him then without the trophy, “now that we have met him with the trophy, we wish to meet him more often.”

‘PM an inspiration for all of us,’ says Smriti Mandhana

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said the Prime Minister had motivated them and “has been an inspiration for all of us.” She added that girls across India were excelling in various fields today, crediting the encouragement they received from the country’s leadership.

All-rounder Deepti Sharma said she had been waiting to meet the Prime Minister again, recalling how he had told them in 2017 to keep working hard to achieve their dream.

She said she draws strength from her faith, mentioning her ‘Jai Shri Ram’ post and the Hanuman tattoo on her arm, which PM Modi referred to during their interaction.

PM urges team to champion Fit India message

During the interaction, Harmanpreet asked the Prime Minister how he manages to stay in the present, to which he replied that it had become his habit over time.

PM Modi also reminisced about some of Indian women’s cricket’s most memorable moments — Harleen Deol’s celebrated catch against England in 2021 and Amanjot Kaur’s fumbled yet successful catch in the final — remarking that while catching, a player must be seeing the ball, but after the catch, they must be seeing the trophy.

He urged the players to carry forward the message of Fit India, especially among young girls, stressing the importance of staying healthy and active.

Kranti Gaud mentioned that her brother is a big fan of the Prime Minister, who responded with an open invitation to meet them.