The first Indian woman to win a gold medal in wrestling in the Commonwealth Games, Geeta Phogat is set to make a comeback. She is currently on a maternity break after giving birth to her son Arjun in December last year. While the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics Games (now slated on July 23, 2021) due to the coronavirus pandemic came as a disappointment to many athletes, for Geeta it gives her sufficient time to prepare.
"Since the Olympics has been postponed, I am hoping to compete in it. This one year will give me sufficient time to prepare for the trials and the qualification events," said Geeta during an online chat show &feature=emb_logo">In The Sportlight.
Getting back into the groove after a maternity break is not simple. The World Championships bronze medallist and fellow wrestler Pawan Kumar Saroha got married in 2016 and the couple recently had a baby boy. After staying away from wrestling due to pregnancy, now the 31-year-old wrestler wants to make a comeback.
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“I started fitness training sometime back but the doctor advised me to wait as I have to feed my kid. We wrestlers are not used to doing light workouts. But since the last couple of months, I have started getting into the groove. Training is difficult without an opponent so I’m doing whatever exercises are possible at home,” the wrestler said.
"I have gained some weight during pregnancy, so my priority would be to get fit. And after that, whatever qualifying tournament is there, I will participate and try to book a place for the Olympics," she added.
Also Read: How Are Indian Sportswomen Spending Time While Social Distancing
Geeta Phogat's career
Geeta is a role model for aspiring women wrestlers, more so after the film Dangal. She scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at Commonwealth Games in 2010. Geeta then won the bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships and also has two bronze medals at the Asian championships. She was the first woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics in 2012.
However, since then, the wrestler couldn't make a big mark at the podiums. Back in 2018, Geeta confessed that she had lost her focus after staying away from wrestling due to a variety of reasons.
Commenting on the link between Bollywood and the sports industry, the Olympian had earlier said, “We have regularly won medals at all tournaments and I think after ‘Dangal’, the craze for wrestling increased among girls,” Indian Express reported.
Also Read: Years After String of Feats, Wrestler Family Fights For Their Due
Feature Image Credit: Geeta Phogat /Twitter
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