Q. How would you introduce yourself?
Ans. I am Neha, pursuing bcom hons from Maitreyi college. I hail from Haryana and currently living in Delhi. Sports is my passion and I am 4 times national level Softball player, got second position in softball championship. Apart from that I love to play badminton, read poems, books, cycling and I am also into Gardening.
Q. When did you start playing?
Ans. I initiated it in 6th grade. I faced rejections for most of the sports everywhere due to my short height. It was my mother who encouraged me to prove everyone that barriers like this can't stop me from pursuing my passion. When I was in 9th grade there were trials in schools for softball and I went for it. Luckily I got selected in those trials and got the chance to join the sports academy. And just after 6 months of joining it I got the opportunity to play the nationals.
Q. Tell us about how your journey has been in the Academy.
Ans. It was difficult for me in the beginning as initial phase of training was seeming tough to me. I was not able to balance out my studies with my passion. I would stay tired after training and came back home just to sleep and then next morning back to school and then again back to training. People were also not so welcoming there, sometimes I felt as if they were boycotting me for my game as I was not able to give my 100% to the game. I felt left out but then I worked hard on improving my game and people started appreciating me and they started socializing with me. Now I feel like a family with them.
Q. How did you manage to balance your studies with the sports?
Ans. After coming from the academy I used to go tuitions for 2 hrs. Also, sometimes, I would study late at nights, to keep myself updated with everything that was being taught at the school.
Q. Who do you think played a major role in your journey?
Ans. My mother has been my inspiration, she herself was a state level volleyball player. Whenever I saw her medals and trophies in the showcase, I would use to think of winning those medals one day too. So that was something that insisted on me to put a leg forward in sports. She used to wake me up early at 5 am in the morning and took me to the nearby park for practice in my initial years. She helped me in improving my catches. At the academy also my coaches were nice and helped me to improve overall.
Q. We face many difficulties when trying to prove,so how did you manage to curb them? Do you remember facing any prejudice or discrimination?
Ans. At the beginning when there were practices at nights, my family didn't approved of it and they asked me to come back home early. So I talked to my coach regarding this and they also became reluctant for night practices. They gave early sessions preference to female players and late evenings ones to male players.
Q. What were some other hurdles you faced in your journey?
Ans. Apart from that we faced a lot of problems with sports equipment. Many institutions still don't have required sports equipments. Either they are less in quantity or the quality is too poor to be used.
Q. What are your future aspirations?
Ans. I want to play better than I am playing right now and later in career I want to grab a Government job.
Q. Is there any message that you like to convey to our readers?
Ans. Everyone should be focused to their goals and dreams. They should pursue their talents.
Highlights:
Neha Sharma is four times national level Softball player and has secured second position in softball championship.
Apart from Softball she loves to play badminton and pursue her other hobbies which includes reading books, poem, cycling and gardening too.
She started playing when she was in her 6th grade.
Though it was difficult for her to manage her studies with her passion but with her hardwork she was able to conquer her dream.
Her mother have been her inspiration behind pursuing sports as her passion. Her mother herself was state level volleyball player.
コメント