Women athletes and their journeys of grit. Shri Radhey

The first went to Saikhom Mirabai Chanu who set a new Olympic record with a successful 115 kg lift in clean and jerk. The second went to Lovlina Borgohain who, in her first Olympics, is now the third Indian boxer to ensure a podium finish, after Vijender Singh in 2008 and Mary Kom in 2012. PV Sindhu hauled in the third to become the first Indian woman to win two individual medals at an Olympics. At the time of writing, golfer Aditi Ashok could well bring home a silver.

And the Indian women’s hockey team made it to the semi-finals for the first time ever. Despite their 1-2 loss to Argentina, they fought hard against Great Britain in the match for the bronze, but unfortunately, lost 3-4.

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Behind the glitter of the medals lies a story of personal grit. Poverty and marginalisation cut across gender, but women face special discrimination that ranges from fighting to be born to being allowed to play a sport. “Women face so many restrictions, from their mobility and the way that they dress to the social pressures that prevent girls from taking up sport, particularly contact sport,” says former national-level volleyball player Kanta Singh, now, country programme manager at United Nations Women.

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Perhaps the biggest change can be seen among the women themselves. Sport, says Sharda Ugra who has spent most of her career writing on men’s sport, has given women freedom, power and confidence. It “makes us brave,” Rani Rampal told Ugra.

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It also sends a message. “People in my village now think it’s okay to want their daughters admitted into a good college in another place,” goalkeeper Savita Punia told Ugra. “They tell my parents, Savita can go so far away, to other countries, other states, why can’t we send our daughters to another district?” Now, that’s a good distance to cover.

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It also sends a message. “People in my village now think it’s okay to want their daughters admitted into a good college in another place,” goalkeeper Savita Punia told Ugra. “They tell my parents, Savita can go so far away, to other countries, other states, why can’t we send our daughters to another district?” Now, that’s a good distance to cover.