We hope Asian Games Gold helps inspire and motivate youngsters to take up cricket: Deepti Sharma

Hangzhou, 26 September 2023: The Indian women’s cricket team secured the Gold Medal at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games after a stunning performance against the Sri Lanka Women’s cricket team in the final at the continental mega sporting event. 

Four female cricketers from the UP Warriorz squad that played in the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) were part of the Indian squad that secured the gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Devika Vaidya, and Anjali Sharvani were part of the squad, however, Anjali dropped out from the squad for the Asian Games due to a minor injury. The rest above-mentioned players were an integral part of the squad, especially Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad who were pivotal in India’s run to the final of the Women’s Cricket event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.  

The Indian Women’s Cricket team started their campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games with a resounding victory over Malaysia in the quarter-finals. In the subsequent semi-final match against Bangladesh, they secured another comfortable victory to set up a clash against Sri Lanka in the final. The Indian team batted first in the final and put on a total of 116 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs, and comfortably restricted the Sri Lankans to 97 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs.    

After securing the Gold Medal at the event, Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma expressed her delight about the triumphant campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Deepti said, “It feels great, we as a team are really grateful for this. This is our first Gold Medal and we are really enjoying this moment. We want to continue in the same vein and continue winning together as a team. The Asian Games is a very big stepping stone, and we hope this win helps inspire and motivate youngsters to take up cricket.” 

Her India and UP Warriorz teammate Rajeshwari Gayakwad added, “Winning the Gold medal at the Asian Games is a moment that will always be very special to all of us. This is a result of all the hard work and we are sure that the confidence from such a win will show in our performances in the future. And the more we play, whether it be in the WPL with the UP Warriorz or for India, or any other team, the better for us and the sport.”  

“Heartiest congratulations to the Indian women’s cricket team on winning the Gold medal at the Asian Games. We have some great cricketers in our country, and this is a testament to their talent and hard work. We at UP Warriorz are extremely proud of the team, and wish that this opens the doors for many more wins,” said Jinisha Sharma, Team Owner of UP Warriroz.