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Lalita crossed many hurdles
PUNE: Years ago when Lalita Babar started participating in sports, her parents had reservations about her activities. Hailing from perennially drought-hit Maan region
PUNE: Years ago when Lalita Babar started participating in sports, her parents had reservations about her activities. Hailing from perennially drought-hit Maan region in Satara district, where girls were once considered unwanted, Lalita was the eldest and her parents thought the sooner she gets married, the better. The qualms, however, have vanished as the 27-year-old made history in Rio Olympics, finishing 10th in the 3000m steeplechase final on Monday.
Known as ‘Maandeshi Express’ for the speed with which she used to run, the journey has not been without hardships for Lalita. Coming from a region where the average rainfall is less than 500 mm, she had to fight poverty and social norms.
“Our main concer n has always been about inadequate rain as it affects our crops. We thought Lalita’s decision to make a career in sports, would be an economic burden to the family,” said her father Shivaji Babar, who works as a driver. As Lalita excelled at local events, her confidence to scale new heights grew, said Babar.
But drought and poverty were not the only obstacles for Lalita, eldest of four siblings. Coming from the region which was once known for its skewed sex ratio — many families were found to have named their daughters Nakushi, meaning unwanted, Lalita’s challenges were manifold. After all, one of her sisters has been named as “Nakushi”.
Today, daughters from the Babar family have made their parents proud. While Nakushi and her sister are in police service, Lalita, who started with kho-kho before switching to athletics, has become the first athlete in 32 years to participate in the final of a track event at the Olympics. PT Usha was the last to do so, missing the podium by a whisker at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
“We have realised that our opposition to Lalita for choosing sports as a career was wrong. We are confident that Lalita, who has put our village on global map, will soon win an international medal for India,” said Lalita’s mother Nirmala Babar, not knowing much about what exactly the steeplechase event is.
To watch Lalita’s event on Monday, the entire Mohi village, where the Babar family lives, assembled at a school where special arrangements were made for the telecast of the event.
