Jhulan: ‘Rathore can take Indian sport to new heights’

India’s seasoned pacer hopes the country’s new sports minister will improve infrastructure and other existing facilities.

“Being a sportsperson, we can all relate to him and I’m so excited,” Jhulan Goswami said after Olympic medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was appointed India’s new sports minister.

The Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami is excited at the appointment of Olympic medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as the sports minister and said he can take the country to new heights in sports.

“Being a sportsperson, we can all relate to him and I’m so excited,” the two-time World Cup finalist told PTI on the sidelines of a programme here.

“He has gone through the same struggle and is very much aware of the difficulties faced by an athlete...what it takes to win a medal at the highest level,” she said of Rathore, who won a silver in the double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“We definitely hope that he will improve the infrastructure and ensure a better upkeep of the existing facilities to take Indian sport to new heights,” she added.

Jhulan said women’s cricket was one of the fastest growing sports in the world and it would be a great idea to introduce it in the Olympics.

“I am not aware of any development. But it would be a wonderful idea to have women’s cricket in Olympics, something the whole world looks forward to,” she said.

The chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), David Richardson, has said that “the time is right” to make an application for participation at the 2024 Games but the BCCI has been reluctant on the issue.