Soni Kamlesh Yadav - Member of Indian Women's cricket team

The game of cricket, although not of Indian origin, is a sport that is close to every Indian’s heart. For a long time, men have dominated the sport, but recently the Indian women's cricket team  has been gaining prominence too.

Soni Kamlesh Yadav an alumna of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Raj Nagar Ghaziabad, made her Women's One Day International cricket (WODI) debut against Sri Lanka in the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier on 7 February 2017.

Recently she spoke about her journey from playing gully cricket to making a mark in Indian cricket team with Shri Nitish Sharma (Meerut Pranta member of Purv Chatra Parishad). Following is a short excerpt of her interview.

Interviewer : What does cricket mean to you?

Soni : Cricket for me represents divine grace. Several obstacles blocked my journey but by God’s grace I was able to turn them into milestones on my way to success. Every cricketer should have the capability to suffer through pain and play the game. 

My cricketing journey began when I developed an interest towards the sport while playing gully cricket with my brother. In the initial stage I faced a lot of resistance from my family and society in general, but I decided not to give up.While studying at Delhi University I started practicing in DDCA and got a chance to play World Cup in Sri Lanka in the year 2017.

Interviewer : Describe yourself as a player?

Soni : I am a Right-hand batsman and bowl at Right-arm medium pace. I am known for my bowling. Since my childhood I was interested in sports and participated in various events. I was also a Kho-Kho player. In cricket  Jhulan Goswami inspires me.

Interviewer : How did your family support you?

Soni : “The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow”. For every child, their mother and father are their lifeline and main support system but when one is missing,your lifeline can feel disconnected. 

My hometown is at Govindpuram, Ghaziabad, UP. I experienced a lot of hardships since childhood after my father expired when I was 3 or 4 months old. After that incident my mother got my late father’s governmental job and managed the family single handedly. Later my brother was also able to help her financially.

Even in such tough circumstances my family never gave up and I was able to continue my studies and sports at the same time with their help. At the beginning, it was difficult for me to convince my family about my interest towards cricket but when my family realized my passion towards the game, they supported me wholeheartedly.

Interviewer : Whom you would like to thank from your school and what role did Vidya Bharati play in shaping your career?

Soni : My school taught me to stay disciplined and focused, which is key to success in every sport. I wish that every player got a chance to compete at Kshetra level sports like I did through Vidya Bharati, as they prove to be a great learning platform.

To show my appreciation, I gifted a LED TV to my school and also helped to open a special cricket coaching class. I would like to thank my school principal Shri Mahesh ji  and my class teacher who helped me immensely by giving home tuition when I used to be busy with Cricket. 

Vidya Bharati is proud of Soni’s achievements and wishes her all the best for her future. She is an inspiration to all students.

If you are a Vidya Bharati alumni, and want to share your own inspirational story with the community or if you are interested to provide any kind of sports coaching to Vidya Bharati students kindly email us at : info@vidyabharatialumni.org