Richa Ghosh, the Siliguri girl who was a part of the Indian women’s cricket squad that won gold at the Asian Games, received a rousing welcome on her return to her hometown on Wednesday.

Richa played matches in the Asian Games as a wicketkeeper-batter of the national women's cricket team. India won gold at the event defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final match held in Hangzhou, China.

“It was a low-scoring and tough match. But we were confident and finally managed to defeat Sri Lanka,” she told newspersons after arriving at the Bagdogra airport.

This is the first time that women’s cricket was introduced in the Asian Games.

India’s quest for the gold started with a win against Malaysia in the first match. In the semi-final, they defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets.

In the match against Malaysia, Richa scored an unbeaten 21 runs, hitting three boundaries and one six. In the semi-final, she did not get a chance to bat. In the low-scoring final, her contribution was only nine runs but with a massive six. Both in the semi-final and the final, she took a catch and succeeded in stumping a batter of the opposing teams.

Earlier, Richa was also part of the Under-19 women’s national team that won the International Cricket Council’s inaugural Under-19 Women’s World Cup championship in January this year.

Aware of the poor cricket infrastructure in Siliguri, she said it required a collective effort to improve the situation.

“We need to work collectively so that appropriate infrastructure, including a cricket ground, is set up in the city,” she said.

As she reached the airport, hundreds of cricket enthusiasts greeted her. Later in the day, a cricket match was organised at an indoor facility in Siliguri where mayor Gautam Deb and deputy mayor Ranjan Sarkar played with some others. Richa was present at the event.

Manoj Verma, the cricket secretary of Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad, the sports body of Siliguri sub-division, said Richa made every Siliguri resident proud.

“After becoming a member of the world cup winning team, Richa has now become a part of the history of the country’s women's national team. Women’s cricket was introduced for the first time in the Asian Games, and she was a member of the team that bagged gold,” said Verma.