The Dangal lady of India, Geeta Phogat is dreaming big for the Indian wrestling at Tokyo 2020. Geeta who won the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold for the country and is expecting that Indian wrestlers will do very well at the Tokyo Olympics.
With five wrestlers bagging medals at the recently concluded world championships in Nur-Sultan and 4 booking their quota places for the Olympics, Phogat is absolutely gong-ho about the Indian prospects at Tokyo.
“It is a great achievement that few of our top wrestlers performed brilliantly at the world championships and booked Tokyo licenses in the first qualification itself. It is a very big thing. This is a indicator that India will do well at the Olympics. I am really hopeful that we will get medals in Tokyo,” she said.
Phogat who is expecting her first child was addressing students of Parul University (PU) on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child. During the occasion Phogat especially lauded the efforts and performance of cousin Vinesh Phogat.
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“Vinesh is wrestling beautifully, she is athletic, powerful and agile. If she can maintain her form and fitness, she is a sure bet for the medal in Tokyo”.
Vinesh was the sole Indian woman wrestler to bag a medal when she won bronze medal in the 53kg category while four other male wrestlers – Deepak Punia, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar and Rahul Aware bagged medals at the world championships. Along with Vinesh, Deepak, Bajrang & Ravi booked Tokyo quota places during the event.
During the occasion Geeta also recollected the family’s struggle in the game, she said her father thought of training all the girls in her family after Karnam Malleswari won a medal in weightlifting in 2000 at the Olympics.
“Before 2010, there was no akhada where girls could undergo training. Today, there are at least 15 such akhadas in Haryana that exclusively train women wrestlers,” she said.
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