GEETA PHOGAT, 23 Category: 55 kg Hails from: Bhiwani, Haryana Sporting high: Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010

Eight years after women’s wrestling was introduced as an Olympic sport in Athens 2004, India’s lady grapplers are making their presence felt in the quadrennial games. Geeta Phogat, 23, created history by becoming the first Indian women wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. “It feels good to be recognised as a frontrunner. But making it to the Olympics is only half the job done. Ultimately, a medal is what matters,” says Phogat, the older daughter of Mahavir Singh, who left a Haryana State Electricity Board job to train his daughters for the Olympics.
GEETA PHOGAT, 23 Category: 55 kg Hails from: Bhiwani, Haryana Sporting high: Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010

Singh’s younger daughter Babita won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Their youngest sibling Ritu is also an international medallist.
Today, the the village of Balali near Bhiwani is praying for Phogat’s success. But before her Commonwealth exploits, the same villagers objected to the Phogat sisters slugging it out in the mud with the boys.