Extra-innings win: Punjab’s top sporting honour, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award, to three forgotten women’s baseball stars.

Ludhiana: Five years after stepping out of the batter’s box and into corporate careers, three former members of the district women’s baseball team scored the biggest victory of their lives, winning Punjab’s highest sporting accolade, the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award, alongside a cash prize of ₹5 lakh each.

The recipients — Amanjot Kaur Bains, Arshdeep Kaur, and Virpal — were entirely unaware of their selection until receiving unexpected phone calls from their former coach following a massive state sports ceremony.

The athletes, who achieved a string of national medals between 2015 and 2019, had originally submitted their nominations for the state honour during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 cycles. Administrative delays left the applications unacknowledged for years, fading into the background as the players transitioned out of competitive athletics into civilian careers and married life.

“I started playing baseball in Class VIII and competed until 2019,” Arshdeep Kaur told The TOI. “I nominated myself back in the 2019-20 cycle. There were no updates after that, so it was a total surprise when my coach called out of the blue to tell me.”

Both Arshdeep and Virpal hail from Gidderwindi, a farming village in Ludhiana’s Jagraon tehsil. The daughters of a local tractor mechanic, they balanced their sport with studies at Ludhiana’s Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women. Their teammate, Amanjot, originally from Kishanpura village near Kurali, joined them to anchor a formidable Ludhiana roster before captaining the national squad at the 2016 World Cup in South Korea.

The extended delay highlighted the frequent disconnect between the state’s sports bodies and retired grassroots players. Arshdeep now works in banking and has relocated to Jalandhar following her marriage, while Virpal had similarly given up active waiting after four years without bureaucratic feedback.

Punjab Baseball Association Secretary Harbir Singh Gill and President Sukhdev Singh Aulakh extended congratulations to the trio, noting that their retroactive recognition serves a broader purpose.

“These honours bring immense pride to the entire Punjab baseball community,” Gill said. “The success of these small-town athletes will serve as a vital blueprint to inspire young girls across the state to pursue sports at a competitive level.”