Doorva Bahuguna has built her career around transformation guiding companies through phases of growth, reinvention, and repair. Over the last 22 years, she has moved across industries and leadership roles with agility, leading strategies, driving execution, and embedding herself into organizations not as a detached consultant, but as a true leader. She has led work in BFSI, sports, FMCG, retail, media, healthcare, and beyond, partnering with diverse institutions and brands such as Rajasthan Royals, Viacom18, Jindal X, and the National Urban Development Mission. Her assignments have ranged from building new brands to scaling ambitious ideas, to fixing broken systems that others may have overlooked.
And yet, when she speaks about sports, especially women’s sports, Doorva Bahuguna reveals something profoundly human. Despite her professional record of dismantling what doesn’t work, she acknowledges that some biases linger even in her own thinking. That moment of honesty becomes as powerful as her professional milestones.
Doorva Bahuguna recently shared a story about a family moment in the United States. Surrounded by athletic teenagers her cousin’s children Rahul and Neha she found herself asking Rahul to demonstrate a set of push-ups for her fitness group. Rahul delivered with ease. What followed was a moment that caught her by surprise. Neha, equally athletic and accomplished, asked with a smile why she hadn’t been asked first. Then Neha went on to show not just regular push-ups, but diamond push-ups, wide-grip push-ups, and advanced variations that outshone everyone else in the room.
That exchange forced Doorva Bahuguna to confront her own unspoken bias: strength equals boy. Push-ups equal boy. In her own words, her “stereotype-soaked brain” defaulted to an assumption that strength is masculine, despite being surrounded by evidence to the contrary.
For someone who has consistently written about women’s cricket and the biases that surround it, this admission was striking. Doorva Bahuguna has called out how women’s cricket is often labeled as too slow, not thrilling enough, or lacking in spectacle. She has written against dismissive commentary that sidelines female athletes and the systemic gaps in coverage that deny them equal visibility. And yet, she discovered that even she someone deeply aware of these issues was not immune to them.
This honesty is what sets Doorva Bahuguna apart. Instead of retreating behind expertise, she leaned into vulnerability. She admitted her mistake publicly and invited others to examine their own biases too. “What stops you from watching women’s sports?” she asked her readers, opening a conversation that demands reflection rather than defensiveness.
Biases don’t always live in the loud comments of critics; often, they hide in subtle, unconscious assumptions. Doorva Bahuguna’s story with Neha illuminates this perfectly. It wasn’t a deliberate exclusion, but it revealed how ingrained stereotypes can shape even small, casual decisions. The fact that she recognized it, called it out, and used it as a bridge to talk about larger systemic issues is what makes the moment so important.
In her career, Doorva Bahuguna has worked with teams across sectors, blending strategy with execution, never shying away from the gritty realities of business. That same mindset carries into her engagement with women’s sports. She treats the issue not as an abstract debate but as lived experience. Just as she takes ownership of outcomes in her professional roles, she takes ownership of her blind spots when it comes to gendered assumptions.
Doorva Bahuguna’s post reminds us that change begins in the personal. Before we demand better coverage of women’s cricket, before we challenge broadcasters, institutions, and federations, we must first look within. Are we ourselves dismissive of the pace of a women’s match? Do we automatically assume male athletes push harder, run faster, or hit farther? Have we, in small ways, internalized the narrative that men’s sports are the default and women’s sports are the exception?
By naming her own bias, Doorva Bahuguna creates space for others to acknowledge theirs without shame. She also shows that unlearning requires humility. In doing so, she aligns her professional ethos of fixing broken systems with the personal work of addressing broken perceptions.
Her question “What stops you from watching women’s sports?” is not rhetorical. It is an invitation. Just as she has helped companies confront what’s holding them back, she challenges society to face the invisible walls that diminish women athletes.
Doorva Bahuguna’s journey illustrates how leadership is not just about guiding organizations but about shaping conversations. Whether in boardrooms or in the realm of sports, she refuses to accept the status quo. Her ability to acknowledge imperfection, while pushing for progress, is what makes her influence compelling.
Ultimately, the story of Rahul and Neha is more than a personal anecdote it is a mirror. A mirror showing us that progress is not only about pointing outward but also about looking inward. Doorva Bahuguna models how to do that with courage, candor, and clarity.
In the world of business, she leads teams through transformation. In the world of sport, she advocates for visibility and fairness. In both, Doorva Bahuguna proves that change is not about perfection but about persistence.
And perhaps, by following her example, we too can start unlearning, one bias at a time.
