The Commonwealth Games of 2010 saw India’s first woman wrestler win gold for the country and making each and every Indian swell with pride. The incredible life success story was made into a biopic ‘Dangal’ starring Amir Khan.
Geeta Phogat’s Inspirational Success Story
After winning the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the Phogat family was already making headlines, but after the release of the film, the family was more in the limelight than they ever were.
The inspirational success story was a blockbuster at the box office proving once again that everyone loves a motivational success story. Every theatre witnessed the cheers of the spectators as the credits rolled.
The inspirational success story of Geeta Phogat broke down barriers, and the usual norm as the two sisters Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat were trained by their father Mahavir Phogat, a wrestler himself, to win gold for the country.
A country where even with so many governmental provisions for a girl child, parents still want a male child and shun a girl child. A country which still witnesses many cases of infanticide, this event proved that a change is brewing.
Geeta Phogat is now an inspiration for all the girls who want to break away from the social barriers and leave a mark. Her motivation and determination to achieve success opened avenues for so many girls with big dreams.
Geeta Phogat’s Inspirational Success Story: Her Childhood And Training Year
15th December 1988, saw the birth of India’s first woman wrestler in a conservative Jat family in the Balali Village of Haryana. The village is located in the Bhiwani district of Haryana. Born to father Mahavir Phogat and mother Daya Kaur, she understood from her very childhood that her family especially her mother preferred a male child over her.
Her family like many other rural families in India considered a male child to be a blessing as he would be the heir and look after his parents in their old age. Mahavir Phogat although loved his daughters wanted a male child whom he could train in wrestling but instead he was blessed with four daughters. He did not let that kill his dream; instead, he decided to train his daughters.
Girls wrestling was as much a new sight to the villagers as it was for the judges at the wrestling matches where Geeta and Babita used to participate in and wrestle with boys. The training session was rigorous, and Mahavir left no stone unturned.
Their father used to train them in the akhada. Training started at 3:30 AM in the morning and the only time they were not training in the akhada was when they were sleeping or in school. They were also required to train after school hours for 2-3 hours.
They trained like that for 5-6 years. The whole Phogat family was ostracised and shamed by the entire village, but her father paid no heed to them. Instead, he went a step further and enrolled them in the Sports Authority of India Centre in Sonipat.
Geeta Phogat’s Inspirational Success Story: Her First Gold And Championships
The years of hard work was paid off when Geeta qualified in the 55kg women’s wrestling championship Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010 and bagged her first gold after competing in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 2009 which was held in Jalandhar, Punjab.
She beat Emily Bensted from Australia, and it was a triumphant moment in her career. She did not stop there, she continued her winning streak by winning gold for the second time at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Melbourne next year, bronze at the World Wrestling Championship in 2012 held in Strathcona County in Canada.
After that silver at the 59 kg women wrestling at Commonwealth Wrestling Championship held in Johannesburg, bronze at the Asian Wrestling championship in 2015 taking place in Doha, gold at the Astana in Kazaksthan and made India proud again when she qualified for the London Olympics in 2012.
She has the distinction of being the first woman wrestler from India to have made it to the Olympics. Although she could not win at the Olympics having been defeated in the first round. Now at the age of 30, she is happily married to another wrestler in the 89th men’s wrestling category, Pawan Kumar.
The triumph of both the Phogat sisters are not only motivational but also hugely inspirational. The man behind all these is their upright father, Mahavir. It is only right that the credit is given not only to the two girls but also to their father, who saw that his daughters could make a difference and were no less than boys. Now 55, he still takes an active interest in their training.
