Produced by: Bhoomika
Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh
Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian Women’s Cricket Team scripted history by winning their maiden gold medal at the Asian Games 2023. Smriti Mandhana (46 off 45), and Jemimah Rodrigues' (42 off 40) partnership proved crucial for the total of 116/7 put up against Sri Lanka
However, another player has won hearts with her spectacular performance that helped the Indian team to win -- 18-year-old pacer, Titas Sadhu
West Bengal player Titas began with a double-wicket maiden as she removed Anushka Sanjeewani with her first ball and then Vishmi Gunaratne with her fourth ball
In her next over she took the big wicket of Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu. Titas was on her way to pick another wicket but Amanjot Kaur dropped the catch provided by Nilakshi de Silva. Titas' first spell was 3-1-2-3
Titas Sadhu was inspired to become a sportsperson by his father Ranadeep Sadhu who is a former athlete. Initially, she was interested in swimming and tennis and went for multiple trainings with her dad. At the age of 13, Titas started playing cricket and eventually realised her true calling
Titas tried to make it to the Bengal team but missed the trials due to Class 10 Board exams. At 16, she was selected for the senior Bengal squad in the 2020-21 Season after the then Bengal women’s coach Shib Shankar Paul spotted her at one of the training sessions. However, she was unable to perform well in the state-level football matches and was eventually dropped
Titas made a comeback in the inter-district matches and the Cricket Association of Bengal-affiliated tournaments. Her performances helped her return to the senior team
Sadhu’s first international match was the inaugural ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Jan 2023 where she picked two wickets for six runs as eventual champion India bundled out England for 68 in the final in Potchefstroom, South Africa
India has won 11 medals – 2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze which puts the country in 5th position in Asian Games 2023 medal tally