mumbai the right ear sports a beige strip the thighs have a trail of purple spots and the feet are resting on redandblue acupuncture therapy magnets minoti anand is still recovering from a unique badminton tournament held last week where she was the star even though her team didnt win the shy malabar hill resident covers her face and flinches as she recalls a 38yearold rustic maharashtrian woman who had almost touched her feet at the tournament you are 73 the woman had exclaimed before promising that she too would continue to play the sport no matter what her husband or kids had to sayas the oldest player anand found herself becoming the docile deity of the third edition of maharashtra state womens masters badminton league a contest meant for women over the age of 35 held at matunga gymkhana from april 26 to 28 for those three days a gents washroom at the venue watched 140 womenincluding selfdoubtridden doctors it professionals lawyers former miss indias former sportswomen rural mothers of fourentering in turns to have their joints kneaded by a female physiotherapistten teams of 14 players each with florid names such as daffodil smashers and daisy queens competed according to ability in doubles matches at the contest which even made it into the india book of records this year for being the first badminton league in india to promote women empowerment i will go on to become a revolutionary movement for women like metoo predicts anandthe idea of the contestorganised by a local academy along with maharashtra badminton association and greater mumbai badminton associationbelongs to dadarbased coach mangirish palekar there were open tournaments for kids and men andwomen together but none exclusively for women says palekar who ran into several skeptics who felt the idea would have no takers but a lot of people are now trying to take credit for it says palekar who is now mulling going national next year given that participation has doubled since their launch the glamour dust of saina nehwal and pv sindhu he notes has spurred even women from jalgaon and nagpur to board longdistance trains to participate in his eventmenoti anand for instance not only met a teary 41yearold woman from chandrapur who confessed that her husband had reminded her of her age when she expressed her desire to take up badminton but also another who had wondered why her family objects to her hobby even when she chooses to play wearing a saree or salwar kameez it reminded anand of a sepia time when she felt patronised by male members at a sports club who would ask her to baitho na or allow her to play only during the last ten minutesthen theres also the goliath of selfdoubt many women are too shy and afraid to compete says event head dr arlene ghosh a dentist who not only lost 10 kilos in six months after taking up the stressneutralizing sport but also recently lost a bunch of hair while coaxing