Asian Games 2026 | This will inspire other Indians to excel at Asiad: Shubhangi

India players celebrate with their gold medals in Nisshin on Tuesday. Pic/BCCI

[popcorn number="147" desc="No. of runs by which India women beat Sri Lanka; their highest ever victory margin in a T20I" class="Default"]

Former India women's team captain Shubhangi Kulkarni reckoned the Indian women's team's gold-medal feat at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games can motivate other Indian athletes to excel in their respective disciplines and add more gold medals to the country's tally.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team outclassed Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Tuesday. Batting first, India rode on opener Smriti Mandhana's 45-ball 79 (5x4, 7x6), Richa Ghosh's 22-ball 49 not out and Shafali Verma's 29-ball 48 to post 216-3 in 20 overs. Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 69, with off-spinners Deepti Sharma (3-6), Shafali (2-3) and Shreyanka Patil (2-9) doing the damage.

Shubhangi Kulkarni. Pic/Satej Shinde

"This golden feat is a special achievement because it's not a standalone cricket tournament. It's the Asian Games, which gives the players an opportunity to contribute to India's overall medal tally. The entire Indian contingent is celebrating this performance and it will boost other Indian athletes at the Asian Games to excel in their disciplines. Any good performance usually motivates others too, so I'm sure after this first [gold medal in these Asian Games], there will be many more to follow," Kulkarni told mid-day over the phone from Pune on Tuesday.

Kulkarni, who represented India between 1976 and 1991, also backed the young team to replicate this success at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "If you look at this team, we have many younger players. The future of Indian women's cricket really looks good with so many youngsters. They are all doing well and aspiring to do even better," she said.

The former India all-rounder also hailed Mandhana for becoming the first women's cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs. "Smriti has been playing brilliant cricket, particularly over the last couple of years. She is more patient and, besides being graceful and stylish, the range of shots she plays and her shot selection are much better now. Even in the Powerplay, the way she has been hitting over the top and making use of the field placements, and then accumulating runs, is superb. Getting this record at just 30, means she has many more years to play and much greater heights to reach," said Kulkarni.