A lot of things are hereditary and ‘wrestling genes’ might just be one of them considering the number of families that have given the sport many greats. One of the biggest names is the Phogat family.
India’s famed top international women wrestler from Haryana, the Phogat sisters – Geeta, Babita, Sangeeta, Ritu, Vinesh and Priyanka—have been the flag-bearers of women empowerment. Their success in wrestling has broked the age-old stigma in India especially Haryana. Girls now look up to them and dream of emulating their success in the sport.
Geeta Phogat is the eldest amongst the six sisters and probably the one who set the stage for other girls in wrestling. She is the first Indian women wrestler to win gold at Commonwealth Games (2010) and also to qualify for the Olympics – 2012 London Games.
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If Geeta and Babita were the faces of Indian women wrestling in the last decade, Vinesh is the torch-bearer of the current crop. She is India’s biggest hope for an Olympic medal in Tokyo. The 25-year-old has already qualified for the Olympics after winning a bronze at the 2019 world championship.
Ritu, on the other hand, has embarked on a new journey. Coming out of the shadows of her elder sisters, the young wrestler has left the mat for the octagon. Ritu is now a professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) wrestler and is currently undefeated in One Championship.
The Bollywood film Dangal is based on the lives of Geeta, Babita and their father Mahavir Phogat.
Here are other wrestling families:
Chandgi Ram and his daughters: Chandgi Ram often referred to as Master Chandgi Ram is an Arjuna Awardee and gold medallist at 1970 Asian Games. However, he is well known for his work for introduction, acceptance and popularization of the women’s wrestling in India.
His daughters Sonika and Deepika sowed the seeds of encouraging girls to take up the women’s wrestling in the 90s, and his protégé Mahavir Phogat’s daughter’s revolutionised it.
The Gray sisters: The Gray sister comprises of Adeline Gray, Gabrielle Gray and Geneva Gray. While Adeline is the biggest name amongst the three, Gabrielle and Geneva have made their name in the US collegiate wrestling.
Adeline is the five-time world champion and is considered one of the greatest women wrestlers of all time. She is the first US woman to win consecutive Worlds title since Tricia Saunders in 1999.
The Nazaryans: This family is the perfect example of the saying ‘Like father, like son’. Armen Nazaryan is the former Greco-Roman wrestler from Armenia. He is the 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medallist representing Armenia. He later changed his nationality to Bulgaria and became the 2000 Sydney Olympic champion. He is also three-time World Champion for Bulgaria.
He was recognized by the FILA now called United World Wrestling (UWW) as the best wrestler of the year in 1998 and 2003. In 2007, he was inducted as a member of the FILA Hall of Fame.
Now, his great legacy is continued by his 18-year-old son Edmond Nazaryan. The teenager is also a Greco wrestler and became the European champion in the 55kg weight class in his debut seniors tournament.
The Kadians: The Kadians comprises of three great wrestlers – Satyawan Kadian (father), Satyawart Kadian (son), and Sakshi Malik (daughter-in-law).
Satyawan is an Arjun Awardee and the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics Olympian. His son Satyawarth is currently India’s best wrestler in the 97kg freestyle. He is the 2016 Commonwealth Championship gold medallist and 2020 Asian Championship silver medallist.
But it is his wife and Satyawan’s daughter-in-law Sakshi who is the shining star. Sakshi is India’s first women wrestler to win an Olympic medal. She is also the silver medallist in 2020 Asian Championship.
The Lorincz brothers: You talk about success and the Lorincz brothers will always find the top spot in the discussion. Tamas and Viktor Lorincz are one of the greatest Greco-Roman wrestlers of their generations.
The Lorincz brothers are from Hungary and are currently world No.1 in their respective weight class. Tamas is the elder of the two and competes in the 77kg category. He is the three-time European Champion, four-time World Championship medallist including gold in 2019 and the 2012 Olympics silver medallist.
Viktor, on the other hand, is the three-time World Championship medallist, and 2017 European Champion. He competes in the 87kg and is six-time Rome Ranking Series Champion.
