'Champions win the inner battle': Laxman hails Jemimah's 'mental strength' amid anxiety struggles

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Former India cricketer VVS Laxman lauded batter Jemimah Rodrigues for her "resilience and mental strength" after she opened up about battling anxiety during the early stage of the ongoing Women’s World Cup.

After guiding India's highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history to knock out Australia in the semifinal with her breathtaking 127 not out, Jemimah revealed that she went through anxiety during the early phase of the tournament and used to call her mother and cry to cope with the pressure.

Commending her character, Laxman said true mental toughness and aggression are reflected in the ability to stand tall in adversity.

"This is what mental toughness, killer instinct and true aggression look like. It’s about standing tall when adversity hits and backing yourself with belief. You will have doubts, anxiety and negative thoughts, but champions win that internal battle, absorb pressure and stay unsatisfied until the team’s goal is achieved," Laxman posted on X.

It was a day of redemption for Jemimah, who was dropped from India’s playing 11 for the England clash in the ongoing tournament. She came back strong and struck 76 not out against New Zealand before playing the knock of her life against Australia.

She finally found her best with excellent unbeaten knocks against New Zealand and then Australia, where she stitched a 167-run stand for the third wicket as India chased down 339 to join South Africa in Sunday’s final.

After the match, she spoke about the difficulties she has faced in recent times and how she had never lost faith in her ability to perform on the big stage.

"I'll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this - might be going through the same thing and that's my whole purpose of saying it because nobody likes to talk about their weakness," Jemimah told reporters in the press conference.

"I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament and it was a lot before few games also I used to call my mum and cry, cry the entire time, let it all out, because when you're going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don't know what to do. You're trying to be yourself. And also in this time, my mum and my dad, they supported me a lot," she added.

--IANS

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