Girls, uninterrupted: India's sportswomen let it rip
Over the last few years, young sportswomen have exploded onto the global stage with medal-winning performances. Their stories of perseverance amid hardship are now spurring a legion of determined girls around the country
By: Madhu Kapparath
Wrestling
A glassful of fresh buffalo milk and the love of a grandmother are at the heart of wrestler Bhumi Phogat’s regimen in the rural hinterland of Rohtak, Haryana, where women wrestlers are a healthy aberration in a patriarchal, feudal society.
Bhumi, who recently won a gold medal at the national wrestling championship held in Cuttack, Odisha, trains at the Chhotu Ram Stadium Wrestling Academy in Rohtak. The academy, which has given India its first Olympic medallist in women’s wrestling (Sakshi Malik) and over 31 international wrestlers, is the training ground for more than 100 children, including champions Mansi and Khushi Ahlawat.
A glassful of fresh buffalo milk and the love of a grandmother are at the heart of wrestler Bhumi Phogat’s regimen in the rural hinterland of Rohtak, Haryana, where women wrestlers are a healthy aberration in a patriarchal, feudal society.
Bhumi, who recently won a gold medal at the national wrestling championship held in Cuttack, Odisha, trains at the Chhotu Ram Stadium Wrestling Academy in Rohtak. The academy, which has given India its first Olympic medallist in women’s wrestling (Sakshi Malik) and over 31 international wrestlers, is the training ground for more than 100 children, including champions Mansi and Khushi Ahlawat.
