Long runs and training sessions on wrestling mat is back in Geeta Phogat’s life. The Dangal queen who is eyeing a comeback understands the journey would not be easy but also knows that being mentally strong is the key to make it possible. To make a successful return, she will have to defeat the likes of Sakshi Malik and Sonam at the selection trials. However, for that do happen, the 31-year-old will have to overcome her immediate challenge — cut weight from 78kg to 62kg. “I knew it would be hard. Whenever I would climb the weight machine, I could see the numbers going up each time. But somewhere I knew that if I had to wrestle again, I had to wrestle at the old weight category itself. All it needs is hard work and proper planning,” she says.
Sharing her first day of training in an interview with WrestlingTV, the wrestler said that although her mind was happy to return to the mat, the body had a weird feeling. It felt, Geeta said, that there was some kind of weight she was carrying. “My first day of mat training was not exactly how I thought it would be. My body felt so heavy while making even the easiest of wrestling moves. It felts that someone had tied a weight on my body. It will take some time to return to previous form. Hopefully, I can return to full training before the December-bound world championship,” the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.
Indeed, there is still a lot of time for the Tokyo Olympics to arrive, but the eldest of the four Phogat sisters know that getting reckless in preparations can cost her dearly. “When I say I have a year to go to the Olympics, it seems like a lot of time. But when it comes to doing it, I realise there is a lot of work to be done,” adding her first target is to get the fitness back, followed by vying for the world championships.
Before taking hiatus from wrestling due to pregnancy, the wrestler competed in the women’s 58kg but eventually moved up a weight class to 62kg. Her challengers for the spot in Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian team would be Olympic medallist Sakshi and twice cadet world champion Sonam. Adding unwanted expectations from fans will make it tough for her. But Geeta who is on a mission to fulfill her father’s dream, is confident that she will overcome these challenge and emerge victoriously. Taking a cue from comeback stories of Mariya Stadnik (three-time Olympic medallist and mother of three) and Natalia Voroyeva (2012 Olympic champion and mother of one), the 2012 world medallist said, “I spoke to Mariya on Instagram. She said that the journey I have now embarked on would be amazing. She advised me not to worry about the result and that I would come back stronger. Natalia echoed the same thoughts to me”.
She believes, instead of making her weak, the birth of her son Arjun has made her stronger mentally. “Wrestling is an individual sport and before I used to focus on myself. Now, I want Arjun to see me win too,” she says. She hopes that her comeback would also change the mindset of other people too. “Some days ago I went to my father’s relative told me that I should quit wrestling and that I had done enough wrestling already. I told her I was not done yet and that I have another five years left in me,” she says.
Proving such negative thoughts wrong motivational, she adds, “First they did not allow women to wrestle in India. Then they said women should not wrestle after marriage. Then they want us to stay at home after kids. But it is up to us to break these age-old stereotypes,” she concluded.
