As Gujarat Giants faced off with Delhi Capitals in the Eliminator match of Women’s Premier League 2026 on Tuesday, Sanya Malhotra did a performance mid-innings which, for her, was an ode to female athletes. “This was the first time I felt so good performing. Performing in front of the crowd was thrilling,” she says.
Sanya Malhotra began her acting career as a sportsperson on screen, playing the role of wrestler Babita Phogat in the 2016 film Dangal. The film made her a household name, emerging one of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema. But the experience gave her much more than just box office glory.
The actor insists that the training for Dangal helped her realise the effort and hard work it requires to be a sportsperson, and praises the dedication female athletes show. “I have trained like an athlete for a year for a movie. It completely changed my mind towards fitness, towards discipline. I still somewhere try and match that life. The kind of discipline that the women athletes follow, the kind of routine that they follow, they’re superheroes, honestly,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}The actor insists that the training for Dangal helped her realise the effort and hard work it requires to be a sportsperson, and praises the dedication female athletes show. “I have trained like an athlete for a year for a movie. It completely changed my mind towards fitness, towards discipline. I still somewhere try and match that life. The kind of discipline that the women athletes follow, the kind of routine that they follow, they’re superheroes, honestly,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}Seeing these women in position of power motivates Sanya to leave behind a legacy that can empower the generations of women to come. “I want to empower women because I get empowered by watching these women play on the field or even in my industry every day. I get empowered and motivated to be better at representing women and just being myself.," she says.
The actor, who will next be seen opposite Rajkummar Rao in the slice-of-life comedy Toaster, adds, "As an actor, I follow a very disciplined life. I would encourage and I would want women to just be themselves unapologetically. Try whatever you feel like trying. Do whatever you want to do. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, ever,” she ends.