At 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a blow to gender disparity. 

In 1900, women had a token presence at the Olympics. They were a sprinkle at the Summer Games, barely 2 per cent of participating athletes. But global sport is finally striding towards an epochal moment at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when female athletes are set to outnumber the males. It is a massive step for the Olympic movement given that it was only in 2012, in London, that women were allowed entry into every discipline. Swimming Olympic medallist Kirsty Coventry was elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) months ago; these days, mixed teams are a norm in almost every individual sport and team games require elite female squads to be considered at the Olympics.

It is only apt that the first Games where the percentage of women athletes is 50.4 are taking place in the US. It is the nation where the Title IX reforms had long mandated student sport to treat male and female equally — be it in representation, funding, scholarships or visibility. It is market forces that finally coaxed the organisers to have more women’s football teams than men. The conviction to take this call was because of the pioneers — women players like Wilma Rudolph, Billie Jean King, Serena and Venus Williams, Nadia Comaneci, Danica Patrick, Simone Biles.

Interestingly, the pathbreakers were the nations that haven’t been historically friendly to the US — Soviet Russia, the former East Germany and later communist China, never baulking at promoting strong female athletes and ringing in equality in the funding of their training. China’s surge in Olympic medal tallies has always been led by female champions in diving, table tennis, badminton and shooting. Europe, the US and Australia have seen massive interest from spectators for women’s sport in the last few decades. India also had its own women champions who were role models for generations to follow. Track star P T Usha started it and others followed. Karnam Malleswari and Mirabai Chanu are the country’s only weightlifting medallists, and Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu in badminton. Wrestler Sakshi Malik rescued a disastrous 2016 Olympics with her medal, and Vinesh Phogat could well have brought the first wrestling gold. Shooter Manu Bhaker is India’s only double medallist from a single Games. The women nosing ahead of the men shouldn’t come as a surprise. LA 2028 has taken a pragmatic call, they are only responding to the forces of history.