On August 21, when Vinesh Phogat out-grappled Yuki Irie of Japan 8-2 in the 50kg category wrestling, she not only brought a gold medal for India but also underlined yet another achievement for a family that broke gender stereotypes. The 23-year-old, who had won a bronze medal in the previous edition of the quadrennial Asian event in Incheon, became the first Indian woman to win the first-prize medallion in her country’s Asian Games participation history. No doubt, a new glass ceiling was shattered on the wrestling mat in Jakarta.
Phogat’s golden glory once again brought her iconic family, which was immortalized in the Aamir Khan-starrer 2016 Bollywood blockbuster Dangal back in the limelight.
Coming from Haryana, the Indian state that has the lowest sex ratio among all the states in the country and has an abysmal female literacy rate of 60.02 percent, the success story of the Phogat sisters of Balali, an obscure little village in Bhiwani district, is rare indeed. It’s also the tale of one man’s self-belief, diligence and determination – Mahavir Singh, their father and coach who’s pushed the girls very hard to turn them into world beaters.
Aamir Khan movie Dangal's Chinese poster /VCG File Photo
Popular Indian actor Khan brilliantly portrayed the role of Mahavir in the movie that also swept the box office in China as well under its Chinese title Shuaijiao ba baba or ‘wrestler dad’ in Chinese.
Although the main protagonists of Dangal were Mahavir and his daughters Geeta and Babita, in real life, Vinesh also followed in the footsteps of her cousins to make her country proud like them.
At the age of 8, Vinesh was adopted by her uncle Mahavir after their father Rajpal’s death and got into the wrestling groove with her cousins and Mahavir’s daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat, both international wrestlers and Commonwealth gold medalist.
Vinesh Phogat is declared the winner in her wrestling match against Yuki Irie of Japan in the final at the Asian Games. /VCG Photo
A few years back Vinesh said in an interview, “When we were growing up, village elders obviously said that we were doing something wrong, and that girls shouldn’t be outside running around. I was lucky that my first coach was my uncle (Mahavir Phogat). By the time I started, Geeta and Babita, my elder sisters (cousins) were already wrestling, and word of how good they were had already started spreading. That helped me to a certain extent. My uncle always supported me and kept me motivated.”
Her mother, Premlata, was diagnosed with cancer a few years back and has been taking chemotherapy since then. After her daughter’s historic gold medal win in Jakarta, she told an Indian daily, “I never wanted to disturb the training schedule of my children. So, I would travel alone from our village Balali to Rohtak town for chemotherapy. I wanted them to make a name for themselves in the sport and, finally, they have succeeded.”
Interestingly, Even before Vinesh began her campaign in Jakarta on Monday, her famous uncle borrowed a dialogue from Dangal to tweet in Hindi, “Yeh baat yaad rakhna, beti Vinesh Phogat, gold jeeti toh misaal bun jayegi aur misale di jaati hai, bhulayi nahi jaati. Apne desh ka jhanda sabse upar leke jaana hai.” The message means if she wins gold, she would become history and she should also make her country proud by flying the flag high.
Quite emphatically, Vinesh did oblige to her uncle-cum- coach, who was called ‘hanikarak bapu’ (harmful father) by his reel life daughters for his strict training regimen.
Her glorious feat was appreciated by actor Khan too as he wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations Vinesh for winning the Gold in the Asian Games. We are all so proud of you. Love, Aamir and the team of Dangal. Mhaari chhoriyan chhoron se kam hai ke! (our daughters are no less than our sons)?
No wonder, the 2018 Asian Games showcased a Dangal redux, not on reel but in real life.