From heartbreak to hope: Harmanpreet Kaur's emotional words ahead of World Cup final vs South Africa

NEW DELHI: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday said her team has endured the heartbreak of defeat several times in the past but is now ready to experience the joy of winning a global title, ahead of their Women's World Cup final against South Africa.


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India and South Africa will clash in the summit encounter at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, with the Women’s World Cup guaranteed to welcome a new champion — joining the ranks of former winners Australia, England and New Zealand.
“We know how it feels to lose. But we are looking forward to how it feels to win. Hopefully tomorrow is a special day for us. We have done a lot of hard work, and it's only about getting everything (done) tomorrow for the team,” Harmanpreet told reporters on the eve of the final.
“We have been talking about that whenever we have enjoyed and given our best, we always get positive results.

“It's a proud moment for me and the entire team, and I'm sure the entire country must be also very proud of the way we have played the last two games,” she said.

This will be India’s third appearance in a Women’s ODI World Cup final. The team lost to Australia by 98 runs in the 1998 title clash and went down fighting to England by nine runs in the 2017 final. India also fell short in the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal match, again against Australia.


“When you are at a stage like a World Cup final, there cannot be any bigger motivation. The team is charged up, players are supporting each other, and that shows they are together and how ready we are for this match. We knew long before that the World Cup was in India, and now it is about giving 100 per cent,” Harman replied when asked about motivating her side.

Harmanpreet also welcomed the fact that a new ODI world champion will be crowned on Sunday night.

“It’s good that there are two different teams. We have seen Australia dominating world cricket for so many years and England was also on that stage. The excitement is different,” she said.