Girls,Uninterrupted

That pride though was no certainty growing up in Ballali,a village in rural Haryana not particularly known for promoting women’s sports. However,when their father Mahabir Singh Paughat watched Karnam Malleswari win a bronze in the Olympics,he finalised his daughters’ career choices: athletics.

Choosing a sport wasn’t too hard for the father as he once was a student of the legendary wrestler Chandgi Ram. The idea though,immediately ran into societal and logistical hurdles. While Mahabir built a mud akhara behind his house,there was no one for the sisters to train with,nor was there any woman figure to look up to. So Mahabir began training the children in the family against each other,as competitors. “He was very particular about the training. In fact,there were no separate training for the boys and girls. He treated all of us as equals,so if my brothers did 50 push-ups,we also had to do the same. Technique alone cannot fetch medals in wrestling. So,the prime concern was on building strength. We had to take on male opponents at the akhara and we did it for years. Thankfully,we wanted to grow into stronger human beings and never quit in between,” says Geeta,before sheepishly adding: “Actually,we couldn’t quit even if we wanted to; we were afraid to go against our father’s decision.”

Villagers though were critical of the concept of women fighting against each other and often passed snide remarks at Mahabir. “They questioned why I had put my daughters into a sport which was meant for men. They also said that it would be difficult to find grooms for Geeta and Babita since nobody would like wives with well-built muscles.” he recalls. The strongest criticism though came from within the family. “My grandfather said that if we even thought of going into wrestling,we were bound to lose our dignity. He called it a shameful act. But our father would dismiss it by saying that we were more like his sons,the ones who would earn for the family,” Geeta says.

Mahabir’s role in the wrestlers’ development has been massive,to say the least. “His faith in us made us proud. We stopped caring about what the neighbours had to say,” she says.

From their mud floor,the girls progressed to synthetic mats during state and national tournaments,winning medals galore on the way. Geeta won gold in her first national tournament at Chennai and was also crowned the best wrestler in the Asian Cadet Championship in Kazakhstan in 2004. Babita did not lag behind either. She took a silver in the Junior World Wrestling Championship in 2007. The skepticism back home vanished and the sisters were welcomed into the society with open arms.

“It was a good change,something we never expected. After they saw our photos in newspapers and images on television,the villagers started treating us with respect,” Babita says,adding,“Once we got famous,other villagers started sending their daughters to our father for training. But fame doesn’t come easy. They couldn’t cope with the rigorous schedules and most of them dropped out. But no one blamed our family for our career choice again,” Babita says,laughing.

It was the lack of other women wrestlers,that has made Babita idolise her elder sister, who was the trailblazer,so to speak,for guidance and as a support figure. Babita spends most of her day following her sister like a shadow. Just a year older than Babita,Geeta clearly has the say in all matters. While Geeta is frank and outspoken,Babita is more than happy to lend a ear to all what her sister has to say. Sometimes,Geeta is seen outshouting the coach when Babita messes up a training move,leading the girls to trouble with the authorities. “Geeta’s interest in my career gives a wrong impression to the coaches and fellow wrestlers. They think she is interfering too much in my life but that is not so. Apart from being my sister,she is also my mentor,” shares Babita.

Geeta,for her part,might come across as domineering,but she claims that the image is only to ensure that Babita blossoms into the best wrestler in India. The wheels of progress have already begun to turn as the younger sister,Geeta says in a matter-of-fact manner,is already the best wrestler in the family. So did they ever face each other in a competitive bout? “ Yes,once. We had to face each other at the Haryana state wrestling championship. She beat me quite easily. It felt very different from wrestling at home. But I always knew Babita was stronger than me,” Geeta explains,without a hint of jealousy in her voice.

As women’s wrestling makes its debut in the Delhi Games,the sisters are taking their contenders tag quite seriously. “We are expected to win and hopes are high. But we have already beaten most of the competition we are expecting to face,” says Geeta.

Luckily for them though,different weight categories has ensured that they will not face off at a competitive event in the near future. That happens only on the mud at their father’s akhara.