5 min readPuneAug 8, 2024 10:32 PM IST
First published on: Aug 8, 2024 at 10:31 PM IST
About three kilometres behind the Alandi temple, as one enters Kelgaon through a kaccha road that cuts through a mountain, tucked away in a corner is the Jog Maharaj Sports Academy. Thirty young women from remote parts of the state, training in wrestling and holding the Olympic dream in their eyes, watched all the matches of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
“The happiest we have been this season is when Vinesh Phogat qualified for finals. Along with the entire country, we too harboured hopes that she’ll clinch the gold. But what happened is heartbreaking…We initially thought she would get another chance, or that at least she will get her silver!” said Anushka Bhalekar, who hails from Talawade and has been training for four years at the academy.
However, what transpired with Phogat at the Paris Olympics 2024 failed to mar the spirit of the girls here. Anushka still wants Vinesh to still keep trying and not lose hope. “She can still train and four years later get the win that she deserves,” said Bhalekar. All the other girls echo the same sentiment.
Avanti Ranavde (18) from Hinjewadi has been training for over a year. It’s her father’s dream that she wants to fulfil. She started training after completing Class 10 upon her father’s motivation. Ranavde too says Phogat should not lose hope, it’s the only message the girls have for her.
After defeating Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan, Vinesh Phogat was set to become the first Indian woman to compete in a wrestling final at the Olympics. But her dream was shattered after she weighed 100 grams more than her 50kg weight category on the morning of her gold bout and was disqualified. On August 8, she announced her retirement from the sport, but is appealing for a joint silver at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
Bhalekar says, “In some parts of our country, women are still considered the inferior sex. None of the girls I know from back home have shown interest or considered sports. But I feel it is necessary that we take up at least something, not necessarily wrestling, to prove that women can be leaders in sports.”
Bhalekar came to the academy only with the purpose to stay fit. “But the more time I spent with the sport, I fell in love with it. So now I have decided to take it up as my career”.
Bhalekar says she wants to play at the national and international-level and Olympics is of course the ultimate dream. The minute she says this, her friends echo, “It’s a dream for all of us.” Girls at the academy wake up at 4:30am everyday and have a rigorous practice schedule ahead of them.
Anushka Balasaheb Wadkar (16) is from Khed Shivapur and has been training for six years. Her eyes twinkle with the Olympics dream now. “When I first came here, it was a bit scary. I thought I would end up breaking my hand or my neck. But when I started practising, I enjoyed the game,” she said.
All these girls hold state-level medals as of now. Dinesh Gund, founder of the academy said, “The girls we have at the academy now have so much potential. They are starting out at the right age, and have started training early. Because of the ‘Dangal’ movie which was based on the Phogat sisters, the sport got some popularity. So parents come with certain awareness now. I see a bright future for the girls who are training now.”
However, the biggest obstacle is the fact that they don’t have a coach to train them. Despite being taken over by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), it hasn’t had a coach for around five years. The last coach at the centre was Samiksha Kharab, who was appointed in 2017. That appointment too had come after a wait of more than a year. Kharab left shortly after joining, within a year-and-a-half. It’s been around six years and no replacement has been sent.
In 2015, SAI had adopted JMV, along with four other ‘akharas’ based in Gurmandi (Delhi), Shahbad Daulatpur (Delhi), Hisar (Haryana) and Alipur (Delhi). The Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA) had recognised JMV as the main centre in the state to train women wrestlers for ‘Mission Olympic’ 2020 and 2024.
An international wrestling referee, Gund started the akhara in 2007. He was inspired after watching wrestler Sonika Kaliram, the first Indian woman wrestler, at a championship. To date, women from the centre have bagged 15 international medals and more than a hundred national-level medals.
Gund also informs that more young girls are seeking admission at the academy now. This year, 74 girls participated in the selection trials to train at the academy.
After defeating Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan, Vinesh Phogat was set to become the first Indian woman to compete in a wrestling final at the Olympics. (Reuters) 
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