Imagine having to train every single day for 5 to 6 hours without any days off. Imagine being a teenage girl running through fields at 4 am in the morning in shorts and lycra tops in a neighbourhood where girls were taught to wear loose clothing and cover themselves. Imagine the insults and taunts that would come with teaching girls to wrestle in a community where girls were reared merely for domesticity: for child marriage, motherhood and efficiently doing household chores.
These thoughts may be sheer nightmares for some of us but for the Phogat family, this was reality for years. Geeta Kumari was born into a Jat family to Mahavir Phogot and Daya Kaur in Balali village of Haryana’s Bhiwani district. Geeta began training under her father – a Dronacharya award winner amateur wrestler, with a dream of winning gold for India in the olympics. alongside her siblings Babita and Ritu at 12 years of age.
She had to follow a very strict training regimen. Her father would expect Geeta and Babita to wake up at 3:30 AM every morning and practice in the akhada for three hours. They would train again for 2 to 3 hours once they came back from school. Geeta got no days off and her father’s response to any complaints was: “You can’t have trained enough today because if you had, you wouldn’t have the energy to argue”. Whenever at home, the Phogat sisters are expected to follow the same grinding routine even today.
Failure to hold up to their father’s expectations would result in severe punishments and reprimand and the Phogat sisters would often end up bawling in front of the entire neighbourhood.
This was not all, becoming a pehlwan entailed many more sacrifices. Geeta was forced by her dad to cut her hair short in order to prevent it from being a distraction during training. Additionally, she wasn’t allowed any feminine fripperies as her father claimed that this would distract her from doing her best in the akhada. Furthermore, she had to follow a very strict diet in order to maintain strength and fitness.
The Phogat girls were the first from the neighbourhood to pursue wrestling, hence, they had no females to compete against. Instead of being discouraged by this, Mahavir Singh Phogat encouraged his girls to fight against men in order to build up their confidence as well as their strength. The Phogat family was initially ostracized for their thoughts and actions, but after the siblings won awards and were recognised both nationally and internationally, the roars of abuse transformed into showers of applause.
The countless years of hard work and discipline finally paid off at the 2010 commonwealth games in which Geeta Kumari Phogat inscribed history, becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal for wrestling in the commonwealth games. Two years later, she became the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. In 2014, Babita also won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth games.
The Phogat sisters have now become inspirations for all Indian women who live in conservative societies to rise up and follow their dreams. In Haryana, where female foeticide is a major issue and daughters are regarded as burdens, the Phogat sisters have become the rays of hope for countless girls. It is estimated that followed by their remarkable success, approximately 50 akhadas have been opened around the village to train and support female wrestlers. Females, who were formerly denied even education are now being given opportunities to follow their dreams.
Although Mahavir Singh Phogat may have taken drastic measures to instill discipline and dedication in his daughters, it is remarkable that the Phogat sisters remained motivated and continued to adhere to the teachings of their trainer even in times of difficulty, even when they were being ridiculed and even when they were tired and tempted to give up.
Their story reiterates the idea that with rigour and motivation anything you set your mid to can be achieved no matter how unfavourable the circumstances. The Phogat sisters have reinforced that we must all be the change we want to see around us. Simply waiting around for the right opportunity is never going to lead to success but having a goal and pursuing it with passion and perseverance is. The choice is yours…
TeenQueen. 