India have always had a rich tradition of male wrestling stars, but all that changed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games when Geeta Phogat struck gold in New Delhi, while sister Babita Kumari won silver. That was just the starting point for women’s wrestling to flourish. Since then, recently three women have proven that India’s Olympic dreams aren’t for men only.
Pooja Dhanda (2018 Worlds bronze medallist), Sakshi Malik (2016 Olympics bronze medallist), and Vinesh Phogat (2018 Asian Games gold medallist) are all star names in Indian wrestling now but to get here, they have had to take a long, arduous journey. Hailing from Haryana, infamous for not giving the girl child the freedom to choose their future, these three are not just wrestling for India at the highest level but winning medals as well.
In this video, as part of the Wrestling 360 series, United World Wrestling filmmakers take us to Haryana where these three women battle for their independence and are blazing a new trail.
Watch the full video here: