The Bold Idea of Women Playing Simply for the Joy of It

When Ancy Alexander lost her husband, Aneesh Ananth, suddenly at the age of 44, her counsellor encouraged her to become physically active as a way of coping with grief. Although Ancy had never played a sport before, she decided to try football because it reminded her of her husband, who had loved cricket, tennis and football. She hoped that playing the game would be a meaningful way to honour his memory.

Her search for opportunities to play women’s football led her to Sisters in Sweat (SIS), an organisation founded by former national hockey player Swetha Subbiah and national-level footballer Tanvie Hans. SIS began in 2017 when a group of women came together simply to play football, exercise and have fun. The first session attracted 17 women and was so successful that they wanted to continue meeting every weekend.

Since then, SIS has grown from a WhatsApp group into a larger community offering activities such as basketball, pickleball, swimming, tennis, running, yoga and Pilates. It now operates in seven cities and has more than 12,000 women and girls between the ages of 16 and 60. One of the major challenges it addresses is access. Many sports facilities are dominated by men, which can make women, particularly beginners, feel uncomfortable or intimidated.

For many participants, sport provides more than exercise. It offers confidence, independence and a sense of identity. In a society where women’s lives can often be heavily shaped by expectations and limited choices, sport gives them a space where they can make decisions, compete, have fun and simply be themselves. The rise of women’s recreational sport is taking place alongside significant progress in competitive sport. Indian women athletes such as Manu Bhaker, P. V. Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain and members of the national cricket team have become role models for younger generations. Their achievements demonstrate that women can succeed at the highest levels of sport and inspire others to participate.

The stories of athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds make this progress even more powerful. Asmita Dey, for example, grew up in a small village in Tripura as the daughter of a cycle mechanic. Financial difficulties did not prevent her from pursuing sport, even though her family had to take loans to support her participation in overseas training camps. Similarly, para-athlete Sharmila Dhanker began competing in shot put at the age of 34 after overcoming childhood polio, an early marriage and an abusive relationship. Her journey shows that it is never necessarily too late to begin a sporting career.

Despite these successes, many girls continue to leave sport as they grow older. Research has linked participation in sport with improved confidence, academic performance and career opportunities, yet girls drop out at higher rates than boys. Fear of judgment, lack of confidence, inadequate facilities and social expectations all contribute to this decline. In India, access to sport often becomes particularly limited after girls leave college, while basic requirements such as safe playing spaces and clean toilets remain inadequate.

Organisations such as Sisters in Sweat and Ready Set Girl are trying to change this situation by creating communities where women and girls can participate in sport without feeling that they have to become professional athletes. Their message is that sport does not always have to be about medals, representing a state or playing for the country. It can simply be about enjoyment, friendship, competition and having a space to move freely. The greatest benefit of women’s participation in sport may not be a medal. Sport can give women the confidence and freedom to occupy public spaces, make decisions, travel, develop their abilities and express themselves. For women who play simply because they enjoy it, the act of playing itself is a victory.