Phogat Sisters: Geeta, Babita and now Vinesh… Phogat family of 6 strong girls, every sister has brought glory to India

Vinesh Phogat and Phogat Sisters: Vinesh Phogat defeated Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzman 5-0 in the semi-finals of the women’s 50 kg freestyle event on Tuesday (August 6). Now Vinesh’s final i.e. gold medal match will be held on Wednesday (August 7). She now has a golden opportunity to win the gold medal. Overall, Vinesh has ensured a medal for India.

By the way, each of the 6 daughters of the Phogat family from which Vinesh belongs has brought glory to India. The story of Vinesh Phogat’s uncle and guru Mahavir Phogat has been shown in the film ‘Dangal’. Phogat has also been awarded the Dronacharya Award by the Government of India for her coaching.

Talking about the Phogat wrestler sisters, they include Geeta, Babita, Priyanka, Ritu, Vinesh and Sangeeta. Geeta, Babita, Ritu and Sangeeta are daughters of former wrestler and coach Mahavir Singh Phogat. Priyanka and Vinesh were raised by Mahavir. Vinesh lost her father Rajpal at the age of 9. Mahavir Phogat is Vinesh’s uncle.

Mahavir Phogat taught all the six sisters the nuances of wrestling in their village Balali in Bhiwani district. Three of the Phogat sisters, Geeta, Babita and Vinesh, are gold medalists in various weight categories at the Commonwealth Games, while Priyanka won a silver medal at the Asian Championships. Ritu is a national championship gold medalist and Sangeeta has won medals at age-level international championships.

Geeta Phogat created this history first
Geeta created history at the 2010 Commonwealth Games when she won the gold medal in the women’s 55 kg category. This was the first gold medal won by a female Indian wrestler at the Commonwealth Games. Younger sister Babita Phogat had then won the silver medal in 51 kg.

Two years later, Geeta became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the London Olympics 2012 in the 55kg category. She lost to three-time Olympic medallist Tonya Verbeek in the round of 16 and then lost in the repechage round for the bronze medal. However, a few months later, Geeta Phogat won her first World Championship medal in the 55kg category. Babita Phogat also won a bronze medal in the 51kg category. These were the only two medals won by India at the 2012 Women’s World Championships.

In early 2014, Geeta Phogat had to undergo surgery due to a ligament tear in her right knee and was out of action for over a year. Since then, her career has been plagued by injuries, which has prevented Geeta Phogat from competing regularly.

Babita won many medals
On the other hand, Babita Phogat won the gold medal in 55 kg at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and then won the silver medal in 53 kg at the 2018 Commonwealth. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, but she remained a professional wrestler.

Geeta and Babita’s two younger sisters, Ritu and Sangeeta, have also represented India at several international levels. Ritu Phogat won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Championships and bronze at the 2017 Asian Championships. However, she has since shifted her focus to mixed martial arts (MMA). The youngest sister, Sangeeta Phogat, is a wrestler who has represented India in a few events. She is married to Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Bajrang Punia.

Now Vinesh Phogat is the flag bearer of the Phogat family

Vinesh Phogat has always been under a lot of pressure due to the Phogat family surname, but she has responded to it in a brilliant manner at the Paris Olympics. World Championship bronze medallist and Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Asian Championship gold medallist, Vinesh is one of the most successful Indian wrestlers in history, but her performance at the Olympics was disappointing, but now she is very close to winning a medal here too. One of the famous Phogat sisters, Vinesh made her Olympic debut in the women’s 48kg freestyle category at Rio 2016, but had to withdraw from the quarterfinal due to a serious knee injury. Vinesh, who was considered a strong contender for victory in the women’s 53kg quarterfinal at Tokyo 2020, once again had to face defeat in the quarterfinal.

This is how Phogat sisters became Dhaakad girls
Mahavir Singh Phogat was an amateur wrestler from Balali village in Bhiwani district of Haryana, who later became a wrestling coach. His father Man Singh was also a wrestler. Mahavir and his wife Daya Kaur have five children. These include Geeta, Babita, Ritu and Sangeeta daughters and the youngest son is Dushyant. After the death of Mahavir’s brother Rajpal, his daughters Priyanka and Vinesh were also raised by Mahavir.

The story of Mahavir making his daughters wrestlers has been shown in the movie Dangal. But, the first inspiration for this came when Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in 2000. Mahavir was also influenced by his coach Chandgi Ram, who taught wrestling to his daughters. Mahavir Phogat’s wife Daya Kaur had said in an interview – I told my husband not to push the girls into this sport, I was worried how they would ever get married as a wrestler wearing shorts and with cut hair.

Regarding the opposition of the villagers to make their daughters wrestlers, Mahavir had said in an old interview – Everyone used to say that I am defaming my village by training my girls, but I thought, if a woman can be the Prime Minister of the country, why can’t she be a wrestler? Since there were no proper facilities for wrestling in his village, his daughters used to wrestle against boys, later Mahavir got Geeta and Babita admitted to the Sports Authority of India Center (SAI) in Sonipat.

Sakshi won bronze in Rio 2016
The Olympics started in 1896. Wrestling was included in the first season. But wrestling was kept regular since 1904. But women wrestlers have got entry in the Olympics since 2004. After this, Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik won the bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. But now Vinesh has created history by reaching the final.