The agony and heartbreak will take a while to fade. The cheering by the social media brigade might vanish sooner. It’s why the magnificent effort by India’s women’s hockey team at the just concluded Tokyo Olympiad must not be allowed to slip into oblivion and instead become the springboard for a medal-winning effort in the next Olympics. Reading about these gutsy girls’ backstories has been giving me goosebumps. Their fairy tale might not have ended on a sweet note. But they must be hoping it is the beginning of a smoother run for them and their ilk.

The far tougher challenge for Indian sportswomen in general comes from beyond the arena. It’s about breaking stereotypes and tweaking mindsets. I recall an episode from my college days, where as a quizzer, we had participated in an inter-collegiate competition that was themed on the Olympics. In the pre-Internet era, newspaper cut outs, Manorama yearbooks and back issues of Competition and Success Reviews were our reference material. We made it to the finals, much to the surprise of more fancied teams. I added the word ‘surprise’ to my previous sentence because two of our three-member team were girls. The other nine competing teams had only boys. Organised by senior sports journalists of Mumbai, the winner was decided but there was a face-off for second spot between us and another college. “Which Dutch sportswoman, dubbed ‘The Flying Housewife’ bagged four golds at the 1948 London Olympics?” was the tie-breaker question. I still recall the deadpan smile on the journalist’s face as he revealed the question; he was sure we’d be stumped. He was wrong. I was right. “Fannie Blankers-Koen!” I shrieked, moments after my fellow quizzer pressed the buzzer. It was a memorable moment but I also got my first taste of preconceived notions and mind blocks. Sports — do women really get it? Quizzing — sorry, boy’s club only. Bring both topics together, and it’s indigestible.