Honoured to bring to you the trophy; you motivated us a lot: Harmanpreet, Mandhana to PM Modi

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the words of wisdom he shared with them after their 2017 World Cup final loss to England, saying that his motivation helped them work even harder and finally lift their maiden trophy.

Modi met and interacted with the country’s Women’s World Cup-winning contingent and hosted them at his residence on Wednesday evening. India lifted their first-ever ICC trophy on Sunday evening as they beat South Africa in the final of the World Cup at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium to be crowned world champions.

“Sir, I still remember when we met you back in 2017. At that time, we hadn’t brought the trophy home, but today it’s a great honour for us to present to you the trophy we’ve been working hard for all these years. You’ve doubled our happiness today, and it truly means a lot to us. Our aim now is that in the future, we continue to meet you again and again and keep taking pictures with you and the team,” Kaur told the Prime Minister.

Listening to the skipper’s words, Modi said, "You all have really done something incredible. In India, cricket is not just a sport — it has become a way of life for the people. When cricket goes well, the whole of India feels good. And if things go even slightly wrong, the whole country gets shaken. Even when you lost three matches in a row, there was trolling, and everyone started criticising you.”

In her message to PM Modi after their meetup, Kaur thanked the PM for his words of wisdom that he shared when they met after the 2017 World Cup, and said that it felt really good talking to him again.

“When we met in 2017, we had just lost the final. But at that time, sir, you motivated us a lot — you told us how to play and give our best whenever the next opportunity came. And today, after finally winning the trophy, it felt amazing to talk to you again.”

Mandhana, who was also part of the Indian contingent that met Modi after the 2017 World Cup loss to England, said that the team came empty-handed when they last met him, but eventually managed to stand up to his expectations and brought the trophy home.

Mandhana also mentioned that while they worked hard across all World Cup tournaments, only to face heartbreaks in the end, winning the trophy at home was ‘destiny,’ saying, “When we met you in 2017, we were unable to bring the trophy. I remember we asked you a question about your expectations, and your answer helped us a lot.

"In the next 6-7 years, we tried a lot, but there were many heartbreaks at the World Cups. It was in our destiny that India's first Women’s World Cup would be won at home. You have always been our inspiration. We are seeing women on top these days, be it any field, whether it is in the ISRO or any other field. Whenever we see this, it inspires and motivates us to do well and do better and motivate other girls.”

--IANS

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