Women have crossed many barriers: Ashwini

Manjunath Hadimani | NT

Ashwini Nachappa, who outran PT Usha, has been a multi-faceted personality as an actor, educationist, coach and sports activist. Now, she has been working as a Managing Trustee at Karaumbiah’s Academy For Learning And Sports (KALS).

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Ashwini shared her views on the current status of women in the sports arena, gender inequality in sports and conveys a message to parents who want their wards to pursue sports as a career.

“The Tokyo Olympics was the recent example of how far women have been in the sports, she said. The performance from the likes of P.V. Sindu, Lovlina, Mirabai Chanu, Women’s hockey team shows how women are headed in the right direction,” she said.

She observed that women have crossed barriers across the spectrum and every single day women are doing something special. “Of Course, gender inequality exists and there are people who are going all out to bridge the gap. And the gap is closing in slowly. Let us focus less on negativity and more on what we can achieve,” she said.

Ashwini, an Arjuna awardee, said the taboo of women not choosing sports and parents not supporting them has vanished and there are women coming from conservative places like Haryana and Assam, who are taking up sports and showcasing their talents. “I don’t think it is an issue now,’’ she said.

The former sprinter said that she celebrates women’s day not differently from any other day. “The most important thing is the celebration of life itself,” she insisted, adding that it depends on how we look at life and how we enjoy the process and the journey is more important. She advises budding sports enthusiasts to focus on the process rather than on the results.