52-year-old Neeta Chaple is truly an inspiration. Her grandfather was a wrestler and his upbringing never made Neeta feel that as a girl, she was meant to behave a certain way. Ever since her childhood, she had an affinity towards sports which were considered ‘manly’. Due credit for this goes to her grandfather for igniting that spark of interest within her.
Neeta’s father however, was in stark contrast to her grandfather. He didn’t want his daughter to indulge in sports, especially if the attire showed skin. Her growing interest in kabaddi was snuffed out even before it began. Neeta remembers clearly that the day her grandmother passed away, her journey into the world of cricket began. She believes that it was serendipity and her grandmother’s blessing!
Today, Neeta is a woman of multiple talents. She embodies the principle of being self-made, both in sports as well as in life. In her words, ‘It’s either In or Out’. If she decides to take on something, she will see to it that it’s done. If for some reason it isn’t possible, she would find her way out of it. There’s no place for ‘in-betweens’ in Neeta’s dictionary.
Be it a woman or man, Neeta feels that a lot of times, people set limitations for themselves. One has to cross that line to go beyond these set limitations and explore further possibilities. She candidly says that the gym is ‘her calling’. Whenever she’s home, some part of her body or the other keeps hurting ─ her knees ache or her back hurts but as soon as she hits the gym, all her discomfort goes ‘poof’ disappears magically.
Women often think twice when it comes to investing time in themselves or their passion. Neeta urges them to stop overthinking and to just delve in! In life’s hustle-bustle, she puts out a gentle, yet repeated reminder for all of us ─ ‘Do whatever makes you happy!’