You see a ray of hope when you hear the inspiring stories of fathers, who firmly believe “Dreams Know No Gender”.
They strive hard to make their daughters live their dreams. These dads are the REAL HEROES!
And, one of those real heroes is Surendra Punia, father of Priya Punia, 22-yo opening batswoman.
Even after being a government clerk, this father built a cricket ground for training her daughter. Given the limited resources, he had no choice but to sell his property and take loans to buy a 1.5-bigha plot for building a cricket ground.
Surendra believes that he is living his unachieved dream of playing for the country through his daughter.
And, to make sure that her father’s efforts are not wasted, Priya left no stone unturned.
Definitely, this journey was not for the faint-hearted. It was a journey of sheer persistence, determination and hard-work.
Even after a fabulous performance in a domestic season in 2015, the Jaipur girl didn’t receive a call for the national team. Her performance included a massive score of 95 for North Zone against West. She was disappointed but not heartbroken.
Priya shared with TOI,
“I was sure of getting selected then. I was disappointed, but I did not give up. I knew my time would come.”
Though Priya has been selected for T20s, she would like to have a spot in ODI squad. She believes,
“I expect to do well in the international arena.”
The story behind the building the training ground…
When Surendra was transferred from Delhi to Jaipur, Priya faced a bitter experience. This bitter experience inspired Surendra to build the pitch.
“I wanted to get enrolled with an academy there. But the coach looked at me, mocked me and said, ‘What can a girl do?’ I was quite hurt and decided that I wouldn’t join that academy. I couldn’t take disrespect for being a girl.”
This incident took place when Priya was knocking at the doors on Team India. To ensure Priya gets the best of opportunities, her father decided to set up facilities required for practice.
Surendra recalled how his shift to Jaipur wasn’t easy for Priya. Jaundice struck her almost immediately and after 3 months of recovery, a fractured thumb forced her to spend more months without any practice.
He further added:
“I was suddenly facing questions on whether I had taken the right decision to shift her to Jaipur. “
But Priya never lost faith in her father. With her sheer determination and persistence, she made sure that her father’s dream is fulfiled. So, when last week Priya’s name featured on India T20 list, it was no surprise how Surendra must have felt.
He shared the feeling with TOI:
“I was living a dream.”
We wish Surendra and Priya Punia the very best and hope their story would inspire many more parents to come forward and support their daughters to venture into sports.
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