Know the sportswomen who brought glory to the country but now pine in poverty

New Delhi: We celebrate the spirit of cricket and nearly worship the cricketers but sports and sportspersons almost go unnoticed nad some time unsung. Women athletes are no exception who are far away from media galore..Some of these women have brought glory to the country but are now sulking in poverty.We didn't liked when tennis sensation Maria Sharapova said that she didn't know Sachin Tendulkar. But do we know our own Indian athletes? Do we know more than Sharapova?Here are some of the women athletes who despite of their achievements languish in poverty 1. Nauri MunduA 33-years old former hockey player from Jharkhand has represented the national team 19 times.Mundu started her career in 1995 by winning Nehru Hockey Tournament.In 1995, she was awarded the best hockey player ward by former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav and in 1996 she won bronze in Nehru Girls Hockey Tournament and National Women's Games.In 1997 she won silver in the 43rd National Senior Games Championship and 15th Bihar State Hockey Women's Championship.With many more awards in in between, she also she won the Jharkhand Women's Hockey Association Award in 2008.But due to lack of adequate funds she had to give up her dream of being a hockey player.Currently Mundu teaches in the Mahil School, a private school run by a non-governmental organisation called SINI, along with farming because the money she earns from teaching is just not enough to support her family of 14. 2. S. SanthiThe silver medalist in Doha Asian Games, S. Santhi is still struggling to find a foothold for herself.Earning this glory for the country has changed her life in any way.After she failed a gender test that followed the women's 800 mt event, she works as a daily wage labourer in a brick kiln in Tamil Nadu, to support her family.Although despite the results of the gender test, former chief minister M Karunanidhi had extended a cash award of Rs.15 lakh with which the family purchased an agricultural land but because of the inadequate rain the land lies fallow and she is still struggling to make two ends meet. 3. Shanti DeviA 40 year old former kabaddi player from Bihar has represented the undivided Bihar team more than 30 times in various championships.After winning the 31st and 32nd National Kabaddi Championship in 1982 and 1983 at Jamshedpur and Amravati respectively, she won the silver medal in Guwahati National Kabaddi League and bronze in All India Women National Kabaddi Championship.But despite of these acheivements she is now selling vegetables in Jamshedpur to feed her three sons and a daughter.She doesn't want her children to take up this game. 4. Nisha Rani DuttThe 21-year old archer from Jharkhand, Nisha Rani Dutt, who won the best archer's award in Taiwan, participated in the Asian Grand Prix, won the best player award in Sikkim and bagged another silver at the South Asian Championship held at Jamshedpur in 2008 but she had to leave the sport two years ago after she realized she had to help out her poor family.Currently she is working in a bank with a salary of Rs. 11,000. 5. Sita SahuFrom being a two-time bronze medal winner in 200 meter relay race and another in the 1,600 meter race respectively, in Athens Special Olympics in 2011, Sita Sahu , a 15 year old Olympian from Madhya Pradesh, is selling gol gappas and papdi chaat owing to financial troubles.While the government made announcements for cash prizes for the winners, but the government is yet to offer the support.