Alisha Abdullah: My Biggest Motivation Lies In What People Say I Can’t Do

In a world where women empowerment and resilience fuel coffee table conversations, Alisha Abdullah walks the talk, rather she drives it. Where others may love a boardroom strategy, she loves swerving and outracing her opponents behind the wheels. From her early start where she won both the MRF National Go-Karting Championship at 13 and a ranking in the JK Tyres National Championship in 2004 at 15, followed by numerous firsts in racing championships, the 35-year-old Chennai-based racer believes you can make it if you have the drive, focus and are willing to make sacrifices. Over to our chat with the champion, on International Women’s Day…

Trailblazing Her Way

ELLE: You have definitely shattered the stereotype at a time when there were so many perceptions about women in the field. Please share your experience.

AA: Right from a very young age, a lot of people in my family and friends looked at me in a very different way. In fact, many in my dad’s side of the family used to avoid us as I was this girl who would always wear shorts and T-shirts wherever I went. Being conservative, it was not easy for them to accept. But I would observe my father on the track (he was also a racer) tackle opponents, use strategies and emerge winner and for me, that was it, I knew this is what I wanted to do. When I won my races, I was thrilled to bust the perception around women, and I knew I’d bruised a few competitor's egos as well.  

ELLE: Alisha, your love for racing goes back to your childhood when you were eight. Was your dad an inspiration to you?

AA: Totally! It was my dad’s inspiration and motivation that made me what I am. He always used to push me to the limits, saying, ‘You can do it’. Even if I win a race, he used to always say, ‘Don’t let this be enough for you. Do better as there’s so much more you are capable of, so keep going’. He also had this strategy where if I did something perfectly, he would say it was not up to the mark. It would be not to demotivate me, but to get the best out of me. It turned out to be a key learning for me in my career. 

ELLE: Was it the turning point for you that cemented your choice, when you won the National Go-Karting Championship and the Best Novice Award in the National level Formula Car Racing at a young age?

AA: I remember winning so many go-kart races when I was 11 and it felt natural. Two years later, when I won the MRF National Go-Karting Championship, it never got into my head. It was just like any race I had to win because I was so much into the whole racing thing; I lived it, I breathed it. It was always about the sport and it was like, I have to win, I have to win. I took things up very seriously and that’s why I started winning the championships. Then onwards, I thought, this is what I am, this what I am going to become. Then on, I started pushing to the limits and every day was a challenge for me, everyday became like that — be it in the gym, in my studies — everything became a challenge. When I became the first Indian woman to get a podium finish in an international motorsport competition — the 2014 Toyota VIOS cup in Thailand, it was such a good feeling, too. 

ELLE: Was it tough to carve a niche in a male-dominated sport when you did so? 

AA: At first it was very difficult because when you’re in a male-dominated sport it’s a rough path. I remember in the beginning when I just went go-karting it was fun, you pay 100 bucks and do a few rounds. But later, when you start taking the sport very seriously, it’s definitely a different focus — it kind of grows on you, becomes your everything. My father would always say, ‘When you take up something, give it your heart and soul. I followed that. As I kept doing the races, I found plenty of challenging times. Once my hair got caught in the engine when I was 13 years old and I got a painful ligament tear on my neck due to that. My whole body would have injuries-I took a lot of beating physically and mentally. But that also made me stronger. It made me bold; it made a person who had one thought in mind: ‘If I have to get into the field, I have to win and come out of it’. It became my resolve. It is how I carved myself into this tough girl frame. 

ELLE: What's the best part of racing for you? Is it the speed or something else? 

AA: Actually, it’s not the speed, that is just a part and parcel of my life. I have touched 240-300 kms in a car — on a bike 285 kms was my fastest — so it’s damn easy for me to do all these things. When people think speed is the thrill, I want to say, ‘no, that’s just a basic thing’. You can sit on a bike, start it and open up the throttle. It’s really the braking, which gives you the guts to stop at that speed. It’s the control and manoeuvring. For me, the best of racing is the men; the guys on the track. I’ve always been competing with men; they were my competitors, and in my mind, my enemy. So, on a race day when I woke up, I’d tell myself, ‘Today, I have to make sure I win first and I have to beat these guys’. And I have to prove people wrong that a woman can’t do it. The biggest motivation for me? It is what people used to tell me I can’t do. This was my real challenge - to prove people wrong, that a woman can’t do it. It’s behind the grit and push I felt before every competition. 

ELLE: You've done both bike and car racing, what's your own personal favourite?

AA: My favourite will always be car racing — I love it; it’s so much fun to race in cars. I love to chase, get people off the track. I’m a very different person when it comes to racing, full-on aggressive when I go to the track; it’s like a do-or-die thing for me where I need to finish the opponent off.  That’s the person I am. Bikes are just because they’re the offshoot of what I enjoy, plus at 15 when I did 100cc bikes, I had a few accidents which can give you that little fear, so I moved back to four-wheelers. I’ve also been racing for 23 years now, so for me, I guess I’m also a little bored of them. When someone asks me about which I prefer this, I think, ‘It’s just a bike and a car’, I guess it’s because you’ve been with it all through your life. But for say, a guy to own a supercar or a superbike, I’m sure it’s like a dream come true. 

ELLE: We see you drop some fabulous racing swag. Let us in on your wardrobe. 

AA: When it comes to racing, we usually have certain gears: a one-piece suit, with a best one costing 1.5 lakhs, a helmet costing 1-2 lakhs, etc. So, I do have a few leather gears as it’s expensive, plus, you don’t change your leathers often, but you can wear that for close to five years. Helmets, yes, I have a large collection of these, same for shoes as we do matching shoes and leathers. There’s a difference between a cross-country rider and a racer. The former can have a large collection of boots and other stuff, but for the latter, it’s limited as we can’t keep changing these often.  

ELLE: After training women at one point, what would you feel are reasons why we don’t see as many in competitive sport, today?

AA: Yes, I had started to do this back in 2016-2019, but in time. But I feel when you train a woman for racing, they should have the drive for it, the passion, dedication and sacrifice that’s needed for it. You know it takes a lot to be a sportsperson, it’s not just about one or two elements. I was the first to be a woman car racing champion in India, and at that time I trained around 150 girls. But the problem which I saw was, for many of them, it was all about taking a picture on a bike, putting that up on social media, getting likes etc. It became so trivial. I had so many people going to clubs after one race, partying, drinking then coming to the race track the next day. Some even had blackouts. That is the reason I stopped giving free training to racers, as it is not a joke. It’s not just about women in racing; I feel when you take up a sport you need to be very strong and ready for it and very serious, too. Racing is an expensive sport and when it comes to you free of cost, people tend to take advantage of it. This is the truth why not many women are coming into racing today. That said, I am keen to help dedicated women take up the sport. I want them to aspire to win.    

ELLE: If you had to share advice to women out there, what would it be? 

AA: Be it in any sport, bet it in work — I always say, just focus on the goal. Know where you want to be in a couple of years or a couple of months and keep a goal in one, three and five years. For instance, tell yourself in three years, I want to get a car, or in five years, I want a home. Manifest it and work hard towards it in the given time frame. When you do that, you become your own motivator. You don’t need another person to push you; you don’t need another person to tell you what to do or how to guide you. You are your own motivational speaker. It’s the same for racing: if I tell mysef I want to be a world champion in three years, I will push myself every day from morning — wake up, go to the gym, be on a diet, cut down other activities etc. I always believe it’s crucial for anyone in any field to have a goal in life, after which you make sacrifices, work hard towards it and everything falls into place. This is a move towards that. This is important for any woman out there. I also feel that women today are stronger mentally than men, so we probably can give advice to men (laughs). 

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