Bharti Fulmali: Selected for India, scrutinised for her appearance

"Strong doesn't look one way."

When Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher said those words, she was speaking from experience. Despite becoming one of the faces of women's rugby, Maher has spent years confronting comments about her size, her build and her appearance rather than her performances.

Thousands of kilometres away, and in a completely different sport, Indian cricketer Bharti Fulmali knows that feeling all too well.

In less than 48 hours, India will begin its Women's T20 World Cup campaign. The tournament represents the pinnacle of the format, the stage every cricketer dreams of reaching. For Fulmali, it is also the culmination of a journey that has taken her back into the national team after years on the fringes.

The 30-year-old made her international debut against England in 2019. Her return to the spotlight has been earned through performances. During the 2026 Women's Premier League, Fulmali scored 92 runs in four innings for Gujarat Giants at a staggering strike rate of 191.66, establishing herself as one of the competition's most destructive finishers.

These are the numbers that should define the conversation around her.

Instead, when India's World Cup squad was announced, a section of social media focused on something else entirely.

Her appearance.

The comments ranged from mockery to outright abuse. Some questioned whether she belonged in the Indian team. Others crossed an even darker line, making remarks about whether she should be allowed inside the women's dressing room or hotel. Some of the comments crossed into outright cruelty, questioning not just her ability, but whether she belonged in the women’s team at all. 

This is not criticism. It is dehumanisation.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part is that Fulmali herself has spoken about the impact such comments have on athletes.

In a conversation with Gujarat Giants earlier this year, she admitted that while there are supportive messages, the negativity is impossible to ignore.

"When I look at the comment section, there is a lot of hate. Of course, there are good comments as well, but the percentage is a bit low. So it does affect you a little. It does hurt your feelings."

The honesty of that statement matters because athletes are often expected to pretend that abuse does not affect them. As though reaching the highest level of sport somehow makes a person immune to cruelty.

The episode was disappointing. It was also depressingly familiar.

For decades, women athletes have been subjected to a form of scrutiny that male athletes rarely encounter. Their performances are analysed, certainly. But so are their bodies, their facial features, their clothing, their weight and, at times, even their femininity.

The phenomenon cuts across sports and generations.

Sprinter Dutee Chand found herself at the centre of global conversations about femininity and eligibility. Tennis icon Sania Mirza spent years navigating commentary about her clothing and appearance that often overshadowed discussions of her achievements.

Former badminton player Jwala Gutta repeatedly questioned why women athletes were held to standards that their male counterparts were spared.

Even among today’s athletes, the experience persists.

Indian discus thrower Krishna Jayasankar recently reflected on growing up feeling alienated because she did not fit society’s expectations of what an Indian woman should look like.

“I was body-shamed in school and everywhere else because I did not fit the realm of what an Indian woman looked like,” she had told The Bridge.

Her story reveals something important. The issue is not confined to social media trolls. It begins much earlier. It begins in classrooms, homes, changing rooms and everyday conversations.

Long before an athlete steps onto an international stage, she is often learning that society has opinions about how her body should look.

The irony, of course, is that elite sport rewards qualities that society does not always celebrate in women.

Broad shoulders help swimmers. Powerful legs help sprinters. Muscular frames help throwers. Strength helps virtually every athlete.

Yet many women spend years being criticised for possessing the very characteristics that make them successful.

This is why Bharti Fulmali’s experience matters.

Not because she is the first athlete to face such comments. Sadly, she is not.

It matters because it reminds us that women’s achievements are still too often filtered through the lens of appearance.

No one looks at a male cricketer’s team photograph and asks whether he looks good enough to play for India.

No one debates whether a male athlete’s facial features align with society’s expectations. Their place in sport is validated by performance.

Women athletes deserve the same standard.

The scoreboard does not care what an athlete looks like. The stopwatch does not measure beauty. A cricket ball does not change direction because a batter fits somebody’s definition of femininity.

Sport, at its purest, rewards ability. Perhaps it is time our conversations did too.