For Palak Thapar, a 25-year-old marketing professional, it began with adrenaline, not attraction. “I’ve always loved F1 and football. I didn’t start watching because I found someone hot. But over time, you develop crushes: Lando Norris, Ramos at Real Madrid. His aggression, the way he played, it was hot. And it made me follow the sport more closely.”
Still, scepticism follows her everywhere. “Once, my manager asked me to name all the F1 drivers to ‘prove it.’ When I did, he was shocked. He thought I only watched because of Charles Leclerc. But you can love both, the skill and the face. If I didn’t enjoy the sport, the crush would’ve died long ago.”
Maybe that’s what Sunday night really showed us, not just a record chase, but a reclamation. For once, the emotion wasn’t mocked, the tears weren’t “too much” and the women on screen weren’t accessories to someone else’s legacy. They were the legacy. Jemimah Rodrigues reminded a whole country that women’s sport can make you feel everything the men’s game once did—pride, thrill, heartbreak and belonging.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: vogue.in
