The felicitation of India’s blind women’s cricket team by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan turned into a deeply emotional moment where stories of hardship, hunger, courage and hope overshadowed even the World Cup trophy they had brought home. What moved Pawan Kalyan the most was not just their historic victory, but the quiet suffering that lay behind it — a champion cricketer who did not even have a house, girls who played mainly to earn match fees to feed their parents, and young women who learned to dream despite never having seen the world they were inspiring.
Pawan Kalyan said he first read about their win in the media, and the contrast between their achievement and their everyday struggles shook him. He said these women had made India proud not with sight, but with spirit. He honoured them with ₹5 lakh each and ₹2 lakh for support staff, totalling ₹84 lakh, and assured them that this was not charity but recognition of their unmatched courage.
Captain Deepika’s voice trembled as she spoke about the challenges faced by the 16 girls in the team. Many of them came from families that struggled for a day’s meal. For some, cricket was not a sport but the only way to earn match fees to fill their parents’ plates. Deepika said her village in Sri Sathya Sai district did not even have a proper road, making their daily lives — especially for blind individuals — unbearably difficult. Pawan Kalyan immediately announced a new road for her village.
Anu Kumari from Delhi said that even after winning a World Cup, blind cricketers were still not given the respect or facilities offered to regular athletes. She described practising in remote forest grounds because they needed spaces where the sound of the ball could be heard. “We only want the dignity every athlete deserves,” she said.
From Jammu & Kashmir, Aneka Devi narrated her family’s struggle after her father fell ill. Match fees became the only income that kept her home running. She said this new support gave her hope that she could play with a free mind.
Arjuna Awardee Ajay Kumar Reddy said the team’s victory once again proved what blind athletes could achieve if given even basic support. He said they trusted Pawan Kalyan because he had a history of fighting for those who had no voice.
The felicitation ceremony itself felt intimate and human. Pawan Kalyan helped each player to her seat, handed them sarees, shawls, Kondapalli dolls, Araku coffee packs and spoke to them with sensitivity that left many moved. He assured that he would personally request all Chief Ministers in India to support blind cricketers and promised to bring Andhra players’ concerns to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
He announced a house for Alluri district player Karuna Kumari and said he would seek corporate support through the Andhra Cricket Association to improve facilities for blind athletes.
For these young women — who grew up walking broken roads without sight, practising in silence, playing while hungry, and dreaming without ever seeing the world — this moment was more than recognition. It was dignity. It was visibility. It was the country finally turning toward them and saying, We see you.
Their story is not just a tale of winning a World Cup.
It is a reminder that human spirit does not need eyes to shine.
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