Find Out the First Instance When World Cup Champion Failed to Receive Medal

After winning the World Cup, players are awarded with gold medals for the same. Only the players of the losing team are not awarded the gold medals but a rare event took place in the Women's World Cup. Despite giving her best, one Indian player didn't get the medal.

Sometimes the ICC rules can also prove to be too harsh for one player. And this has been the case for Pratika Rawal, who was a part of the Indian team which won the 2025 Women's World Cup. When a team wins an ICC tournament, all the players are awarded

But in the Women's World Cup 2025, a rare event took place with Pratika Rawal. Despite giving her best to the team, she missed out on the knockouts of the tournament. Eventually when India won the World Cup, Pratika Rawal was present to celebrate with the team. However, she did not receive the medal she deserved.

1. Why Pratika Rawal Didn't Get a Medal?

Pratika Rawal was a part of the Indian team in the 2025 Women's World Cup. She opened for the team across the majority of the games. But her journey in the tournament was only restricted till the match against New Zealand. India was able to qualify to the semi-final stages

But Pratika Rawal got injured in the match between India and Bangladesh. The match was affected due to rain which even made the outfield wet. Pratika Rawal slipped while fielding for the team and didn't come out to bat also. Eventually, it was revealed that she suffered with a hairline

This injury ruled Pratika Rawal out of the tournament. And in her place, Shafali Verma was announced as the replacement for the Indian team. The fifteen member squad was maintained by the team even in the knockouts. And according to the ICC rules, the fifteen members in the final match are awarded with the trophy.

It also means that the players who got injured and didn't make it to the finals squad could not get the medal. And for the first time in the history of the game, it happened with Pratika Rawal. It can also be said that her medal was taken away by her replacement, Shafali Verma, who became the POTM in the finals.

2. Pratika Rawal’s Women's WC Campaign

Playing her first ever Women's World Cup, Pratika Rawal was handed the responsibility to open with Smriti Mandhana. She played her first World Cup match against Sri Lanka, and allowed India to get off to a steady start. With Pratika scoring a calm and composed half century, it was clear that she is here to prove herself for the big stage.

Later in the match against Pakistan and England also, she was able to bring up some great knocks for the team. But her maiden World Cup half century came in the match against Australia Women. While opening for the Indian team, she handled things well with Smriti Mandhana, and s

It took her just a few games to find her touch in the big stage such as the Women's World Cup. Even though her knock against Australia Women was great, it was not strong enough to help the team win the game. Her next match against England didn't go well, as Rawal was only able to

Pratika Rawal finally showed her worth to the Indian team in the do or die game against the New Zealand women. In this match, she ended up scoring 122 runs off 134 balls, which even helped her to be among the highest run scorers of the tournament. She ended her maiden World Cup campaign scoring 308 runs in 6 innings at an average of 51.33.