Two sports commentators in the UK were fired last month after making sexist comments about an assistant referee in the English Premier League, stirring up a huge row about the prevalence of sexism in sports across the world.
For Snehal Bendke, India’s first international woman basketball referee, however, the issue is irrelevant.
A former national-level basketball player, Bendke, 26, started on the road to becoming a referee when her coach and mentor Sharad Bansode, also a referee, noted her quick decision-making ability and sharpness while supervising practice games.
Having passed four exams to qualify as a referee — theory, practicals (10 minutes during a match), physical tests, and interviews — besides an aptitude test, the native of Kolhapur says the Maharashtra State Basketball Association as well as the Basketball Federation of India have been very supportive of her move.
“The players are indifferent to my gender,” said Bendke. “They do disagree with my decisions sometimes, but it’s never personal and never about me being a woman. At least so far. At this level, players know how to behave. They are mature and cool down quickly.”
The players concur. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, a member of the Indian Railways team, said, “I have no problem with a woman calling the shots. As for Snehal, she has been great whenever she has refereed any of our games. She has been firm and taken control of a potentially volatile situation and ensured that rationality prevails.”
Mihir Pandey of Indian Overseas Bank said, “What difference does it make whether it’s a guy or girl? All we care about is that the referee is fair and just. In fact, it’s rather nice to see a woman referee in a sport ruled by men.”
We agree.
