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Impressed by a great show by Indian sportswomen at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games, former India cricket captain Kapil Dev says the country should encourage more girls to come out of their homes and take up sport as a career.
Out of an unprecedented 38 gold medals that India clinched at the Games, 13 were won by women. Overall, 56 women won medals, including the team events.
"At present not even one per cent of girls play sport in India, yet we have managed to beat England, Australia and South Africa in the 4x400 metres relay. Think about that.
"We won the discus (gold). There are not even 200 girls who play badminton in the whole country and we won the gold medal. That shows the talent and ability out there," Kapil told The Times.
"Indian culture says the woman should be at home but the world is moving ahead and our women are much stronger now. We have to encourage our girls. That is why I would like to dedicate the Commonwealth Games to all the girls of India. They showed what can be possible," he said.
Kapil also said that India should now build on the successful hosting of the Games.
"The Games were fantastic. There was a lot of negativity and I'm not going to go gaga over it and say everything was 100 per cent by the book. But even when you go to America, London or Paris you could find thousand things wrong.
"We are a growing nation and a lot of things are not going to be right, but the most important thing is the betterment of the society. I feel that has happened and this is just the beginning.
"The constitution of the country has to change now and we have to put more investment into our kids. If we do that then in 15 years time we can pick up a huge amount of medals at the Olympics as well. We have to build on this success," Kapil said.