Hoto: Twitter An haife shi a cikin 1948 a Punjab, Kamaljeet Sandhu ya kasance na ƙarni na farko na Indiya mai 'yanci. Ta yi sa'a ta ci gaba da sana'ar wasanni, a zamanin da 'yan mata ke koyan more yanci a wajen danginsu. Ita ce 'yar wasan Indiya ta farko da ta samu lambar zinare a gasar wasannin Asiya ta Bangkok a shekarar 1970 a tseren mita 400 da maki 57.3. Ta rike wannan tarihin na kasa a tseren mita 400 da na mita 200 haka ma kusan shekaru goma har sai da Rita Sen daga Calcutta ta karya ta daga baya kuma ta P.T. Usha daga Kerala. Kasancewar ‘yar gida ce mai ilimi, Sandhu ta kasance mahaifinta yana kwadaitar da ita akan ta bi zuciyarta tun lokacin karatunta. Mahaifinta, Mohinder Singh Kora, ɗan wasan hockey ne a lokacin kwalejin sa kuma ya yi wasa da Olympian Balbir Singh shi ma.
A farkon shekarun 1960, ba a sa ran ’yan mata su yi wani abu na motsa jiki ba sai dai suna tafiya daga wata ƙofa zuwa waccan, haka ma tare da haɗin gwiwa! Sandhu gaba daya ya canza wannan siffa ta yarinya kuma ya yi yaƙi da shinge a wancan lokacin ta hanyar ba kawai shiga cikin duk ayyukan wasanni ba har ma ya bar tabo a cikin su duka. Ta kasance tauraruwa a kusan duk wasanni, walau kwando, hockey, gudu, ko sauran ayyukan motsa jiki. Wannan ya dauki hankalin kowa da kowa kuma, nan da nan ta fara tseren mita 400 na farko a gasar cin kofin kasa ta 1967, amma saboda rashin kwarewa da kuma horon da ya dace, ba ta iya kammala dukan tseren ba. Ta yi rashin nasara, amma saurin da ta yi ya sa ta samu horo a karkashin Ajmer Singh, wanda shi ne ya lashe lambar zinare a wasannin Asiya na 1966.
Horon mata ba ya wanzu a wancan zamanin; har ma Cibiyar Wasanni ta Kasa (NIS) a Patiala, Punjab, wacce aka kafa a 1963, ba ta da kociyoyin mata. Don haka wani sabon abu ne ko da Ajmer Singh ya horar da 'yar wasa mata, kuma Sandhu kawai ta bi duk abin da kocinta ya yi. Daga baya, an dauke ta a gasar Asiya ta 1970 kuma an kira ta don halartar wani ɗan gajeren zango a 1969 a NIS. Jami'an da ke wurin ba su son ta saboda irin halinta mai kyau kuma suna fatan gazawar ta. Amma kuma, ta sake tabbatar da su ba daidai ba ta hanyar lashe gasa biyu na baje kolin kasa da kasa kafin wasannin Asiya. Karfinta da jajircewarta sun zana mata nasarar da kuma shaharar da ta kamace ta. Bayan samun lambar zinare a wasannin Asiya na 1970, an karrama ta da lambar yabo ta Padma Shri a 1971.
Sandhu kuma ita ce ta zo karshe a tseren mita 400 a gasar Jami'ar Duniya, Turin, Italiya a 1971. Daga baya aka dauke ta a gasar Olympics ta Munich a 1972. Don inganta kanta, ta fara horo a Amurka, inda kuma ta lashe tseren tsere. Sai dai hukumar ta Indiya ba ta ji dadin wannan matakin da ta dauka ba, domin suna son ta shiga gasar kasa da kasa. Don haka abin ya ba ta mamaki sa’ad da ta gano cewa ba a ma rajistar sunanta a gasar Olympics ba. Daga ƙarshe, ta shiga cikin wasannin, amma hakan ya shafi tunaninta da ƙoƙarinta na lashe gasar Olympics. Ba da daɗewa ba bayan haka, ta yi ritaya daga wasan motsa jiki. Ta koma wasanni lokacin da aka ba ta horo a NIS a 1975, kuma ta ba da gudummawa sosai don canza yanayin horar da mata a wasanni. To wannan shine labarin Kamaljeet Sandhu, mace ta farko a Indiya da ta yi fice a duniya kuma ta zaburar da wasu mata da dama wajen bin sha'awarsu ta wasanni!
Kara karantawa: Haɗu da Padma Shri Geeta Zutshi, Tsohuwar Ƙwararriyar Ƙwararrun Ƙwararrun Ƙwararrun Ƙwararrun Ƙwararrun Ƙwararru
