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Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday congratulated the Indian women's cricket team on winning the ICC World Cup, saying they played with a lot of courage.

The Indian women's cricket team won its first-ever World Cup with a 52-run victory over South Africa in the summit clash in Navi Mumbai on Sunday to script a golden chapter in the country's pantheon of sporting achievements.

"Congratulations to them. It is a moment of pride for the entire country," Abdullah, an avid cricket fan, told reporters at the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government, here.

"When the tournament started, no one expected that we would win. But they played with a lot of courage and won some very difficult matches, especially the semi-final against Australia by chasing such a big target, which was not an ordinary thing," the chief minister said.

The tournament is a lesson that if there is no discrimination in terms of salary and other perks between players, like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has done, it makes a difference, Abdullah said.

Earlier, there used to be a huge difference between the salaries of the men's and women's teams, he said, adding, "I believe that it will be very difficult to defeat this team." Jammu erupted in jubilation, with youths bursting firecrackers and chanting slogans to celebrate the World Cup triumph of the women's team. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)