The way some people from the Indian motorsports fraternity reacted was disappointing: Mira Erda

Mira Erda and Sneha Sharma, the only Indian racers to make it to the list of top 55 women racers from more than 30 countries, who got a shot at qualifying for the world’s only all-women racing championship to be held later this year, have mixed feelings right now. While they gave it their everything in Austria, the duo couldn’t make it to the top 28.However, Mira says that what came as a bigger source of disappointment was the way some people from the Indian motorsports fraternity reacted. In a detailed social media post, which she deleted later, Mira wrote that as soon as these people got to know about their results, they immediately started spreading the word, which really affected her morale. She tells us, “When we made it to the top 55, these people never wrote any congratulatory notes for us, neither did they encourage us in any way. But the moment they got to know that we had not qualified for the final championship, they started sharing the news. This was very disappointing and it took me a while to come to terms with such behaviour. ‘I now know where I have to improve for getting selected next year’ At least they could have waited for us to let people know about our experience, and where we went wrong. I really felt bad and I wanted them to know about how we felt. That is why I wrote about it on social media but later, I deleted my post.” Later, in another social media post, Mira wrote, “I have so many mixed emotions running inside myself right now. Took a little time to get them together to be able to talk about the selection program. Even though I couldn’t make it to the top 28, I literally gave it my everything and pushed myself way too much to leave my mark out there, making sure I use everything I have learnt in my racing career till date. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. But getting out of everything with all the experience is something that a true sportsperson should do.” Talking about the challenges, Mira adds, “The competition was very tough and the conditions were very challenging too. I am not used to driving in icy conditions and there was snow as well. However, when you are competing against the best drivers in the world, there can’t be any excuses. The cars that we got to drive were also very different and it took me a while to get used to everything. But thanks to this experience, I now know where I have to improve if I want to get selected next year.” She adds, “Interacting with the other racers was a big learning experience too. Besides, there were a lot of assessment activities as well and the fitness assessment helped me in understanding which muscles we need to be using as racers. We also learnt a lot about team work and about how to stay positive during races. We have a few options open about where I will be competing this year and this learning experience will help me immensely in the journey ahead.” These days, Mira is getting invited as a motivational speaker to a lot of events and she is enjoying this experience. She tells us, “I talk about my journey at these events, about how I have battled odds to make my dreams come true. It feels good. It’s all about taking one step at a time. Now, there is a lot of pressure on me to live up to expectations. But I make sure that whatever I tell people, I do it myself.”