Meet Lt Sai Jadhav First women officer to pass out from IMA

Meet Lt Sai Jadhav

In a historic milestone for the Indian armed forces, Lt Sai Jadhav from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, has etched her name in history by breaking a 93-year-old record at the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.

Since its establishment in 1932, the Indian Military Academy has trained more than 67,000 officer cadets, all of them men until now. Sai Jadhav is the first woman to successfully complete training at IMA and be commissioned as an officer.

Sai Jadhav has been commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army (TA). While women officers have served in the Territorial Army earlier, Sai is the first woman officer to join TA after completing training at IMA.

Sai belongs to a family with deep roots in the armed forces. Her great-grandfather served in the British Army, her grandfather was an officer in the Indian Army, and her father, Sandeep Jadhav, is currently serving as an officer in the Indian Army. With Sai joining the forces, the Jadhav family now has four generations serving the nation in uniform.

Originally from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Sai completed her schooling in different parts of the country due to her family’s service background. She finished her Class 12 education in Belagavi and later completed her graduation.

After clearing a national-level competitive examination, she was recommended through the Services Selection Board (SSB) and earned her place at the Indian Military Academy. She underwent six months of intense military training, matching the high standards set for officer cadets.

Currently, eight women officer cadets are undergoing training in the Indian Military Academy. All of them belong to the first women batch selected through the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2022. Sai’s success is expected to inspire many young women across the country to consider careers in the armed forces.

At just 23 years of age, Sai Jadhav has achieved what no woman had before. She is now set to take part in the prestigious passing-out parade at the Chetwode Building in June 2026, marching shoulder to shoulder with male cadets.

Her father, Sandeep Jadhav, expressed deep pride, saying that watching his daughter pass out from the same academy that produces the nation’s finest officers is the proudest moment of his life.