Geeta Phogat, the star wrestler from Haryana, turns 34 on December 15. She is India’s first freestyle wrestler who won India’s first gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Born in Balali in the Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, she took up wrestling along with her sisters, under the mentorship of her former wrestler father, Mahavir Singh Phogat. Her sister Babita and cousin Vinesh, both of whom trained with her in the formative years, are also Commonwealth medal winners.
Her maiden Commonwealth Games gold was a watershed movement for women in sports in India. Actor Aamir Khan made ‘Dangal’, a film loosely based on her life, which went on to become a hit. It is still among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.
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Geeta is currently posted as a DSP with Haryana Police.
As she turns a year older, here is a look at her accomplishments
Geeta began her freestyle wrestling career in 2009 when she won gold in Commonwealth Championships. She earned India's first gold medal in women's wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 defeating Emily Bensted of Australia.
She continued her winning streak in 2011 when she again won gold in Commonwealth Championships 2011 in Australia.
In 2012, Geeta Phogat won a gold medal in the wrestling FILA Asian Olympic Qualification event held in Kazakhstan.
In 2012, again, she also became the first woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics in London and became the first female wrestler to get a berth at the mega event.
In the same year, Geeta earned a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships.
Geeta won another bronze in the Asian Wrestling Championships. She grabbed a bronze in the Commonwealth Championships in 2013.
In 2015, she earned a bronze medal in the 58 kg weight class at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha.
She is the recipient of the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting honour, given to people for outstanding performance in sports.(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
