Tekcham Ranjita Devi, one of India’s woman referees with a Fifa badge, feels mental toughness has nothing to do with gender.

“I agree that a woman can’t be on a par with her male counterpart when it comes to physical strength. But mental toughness? Yes she can be tougher. So, I think mental toughness can’t be determined by gender,” Ranjita told The Telegraph.

According to Ranjita, 35, refereeing is a tough business.

“To make a decision within a fraction of second and then face the reaction of the players and officials… It’s a tricky business. Even if you make a correct decision, the players and officials against whom the decision has gone tend to react. The crowd can also be very abusive. But you have to be confident of yourself and stay focused. That’s the key, Sometimes we do make mistakes. If you get bogged down by that, it can have an impact on your next decision. So, to minimise mistakes, one has to be mentally tough,” she added.

“When I started, refereeing was not a happening job for women. There was hardly any facility for woman referees. I overcame that with grit and determination,” she said.

Now, Ranjita is happy to see more girls eager to take refereeing up as a profession.

“Things are changing for the better,” she said.