Anaya Bangar, the daughter of former Indian cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, has shared her brave story of transformation and the challenges she faced after her gender-affirming surgery.

Anaya, who was earlier known as Aryan, is also an athlete like her father and once played age-group cricket in India. However, her journey to becoming her true self hasn’t been easy, especially in the cricket world.

"I am a girl. I want to be a girl."

In a recent interview with Lallantop, Anaya shared that she first felt different when she was very young.

“For me, it was when I was eight or nine years old. I used to pick clothes from my mom's cupboard and wear them. Then, I used to look into the mirror and say, 'I am a girl. I want to be a girl,” Anaya said during the interview.

Anaya also shared that things became difficult in her cricketing career after she began her transition. She spoke about the pressure of hiding her true self, especially because her father is a well-known name in Indian cricket.

“I played with some well-known cricketers now like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal. I had to maintain secrecy about myself because my dad is a well-known figure. The cricket world is filled with insecurity and toxic masculinity,” she said.

When asked about how other cricketers reacted after her surgery, Anaya explained that the response wasn’t always positive.

“There has been support and there have been some harassment as well,” she said.

When the interviewer asked what kind of harassment she had faced, Anaya shared something very disturbing.

“There have been a few cricketers who randomly sent me nude pictures of themselves,” she replied.

Anaya also talked about a person who used to verbally abuse her. “The person used to give gaalis in front of...”, she said, though the details of that incident weren’t fully shared in the clip.

Anaya currently lives in the United Kingdom and continues to speak up about her journey and the issues faced by trans individuals in sports. 

 

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