Who is Babita Phogat? All you need to know about the Indian wrestler who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games
Wrestler Babita Phogat is a multiple Commonwealth Games medallist, including the gold medal she secured at the 2014 Games in Glasgow. Let's delve into the details of the Indian wrestler, who retired from the competitive sport in 2019.
Hailing from Balali, Haryana, Babita Phogat was born on November 20, 1989, in a family of wrestlers. Notably, her father Mahavir Phogat is a former wrestler. Mahavir initiated coaching Babita and her elder sister Geeta Phogat right from an early age.
Babita is one of the six sisters with Geeta being her eldest. The other four sisters Priyanka, Ritu, Vinesh, and Sangeeta were coached by Mahavir. Geeta, Babita, and Vinesh went on to represent India on the international stage.
Career and medals
Interestingly, Babita trained with boys at nearby akharas (mud pits) with her father and sister Geeta. She stole the limelight when she secured a gold medal in the women's 51kg freestyle event at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships 2009 in Jalandhar, Punjab.
Later in 2010, she bagged a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games after losing to Ifeoma Nwoye of Nigeria in the final. However, she defended her gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.
Although she failed to make it to the London Summer Games in 2012, she went on to clinch the bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships in Canada. In 2013, she moved up to the 55kg weight category, winning another bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Delhi.
Gold medal at Commonwealth Games 2014
Her major gold medal came at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 when she defeated Canada's Brittanee Laverdure. However, she couldn't keep her form as she lost the bronze medal bout at the Asian Games in South Korea in 2014.
At the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, Babita Phogat settled for the bronze medal. She secured her entry into the Rio Olympics in 2016, representing India alongside her sister Vinesh.
Rio Olympics 2016
Competing in the 53 kg weight category, Babita couldn't make an impact, eventually losing her first-round bout by 1-5 against Greece's Maria Prevolaraki by 1-5 to bow out of the Summer Games.
The Bollywood film Dangal, released in 2016, was based on the story of Babita Phogat and her elder sister Geeta. Aamir Khan starred as Mahavir Phogat, who trained Babita and Geeta. Babita was portrayed by Sanya Malhotra. The film emerged as a commercial success, setting several records at the Indian box office.
2018 Commonwealth Games and retirement
Babita Phogat won a silver medal in the women's 53kg freestyle event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. In 2019, she married wrestler Vivek Suhag and announced her retirement from competitive sport.