Wrestler Geeta Phogat - India’s Best Bet on Female Wrestling

Geeta Phogat is an Indian freestyle wrestler and a renowned personality in sports. She is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games and the first female wrestler to qualify for Olympic Summer Games. This woman has made our country proud several times by raising our National Flag at various sports events. In this write-up, we will study the Geeta Phogat story & know the ups & downs of her life.

Geeta Phogat – Statistics

• Full Name – Geeta Kumari Phogat
• Date of Birth - 15 December 1988 (32 years)
• Place of Birth - Balali, Haryana, India
• Nationality - India
• Occupation - Wrestler
• Event - Freestyle Wrestling
• Coach - Mahavir Singh Phogat
• Zodiac Sign - Saggitarrius
• Marital Status - Married
• Spouse - Pawan Kumar

Geeta Phogat - Early Life

Geeta was born in a family of wrestlers in the Balali village of Haryana. Her mother is a homemaker and, her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a former wrestler. He is also a recipient of the Dronacharya Award and, he trains Geeta and Babita for their matches. Living in a stereotypical village, where girls had to marry at a young age, it was a struggle for both the girls to come out and wrestle. Her family had to face a lot of criticism because of wrestling in the initial days. But Geeta and her sister came out of all this and, they proved everyone wrong.

Geeta Phogat - Family and Personal Life

Geeta's younger sister Babita and Cousin Vinesh Phogat have also won gold medals in the Commonwealth Games. Her other younger sisters Ritu Phogat & Sangita Phogat, are also International level wrestlers. Geeta got married in 2016 to a fellow wrestler Pawan Kumar & gave birth to a boy in 2019.

Geeta Phogat – Career Timeline

• Early Career - Geeta started her training under the guidance of her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat. She won various district levels, state level, and national level matches before qualifying for the International level. She has been the national champion and was considered one of the main competitors in her time.
• Commonwealth Wrestling Championship, 2009 - The 2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship got held in Jalandhar, Punjab. Geeta won a gold medal in that tournament.
• 2010 Commonwealth Games - 2010 Commonwealth Games was a turning point for Geeta'a career. She defeated Emily Bensted from Australia and became the first-ever woman to win a gold medal in women's wrestling. She won the match with a 5 point finish.
• 2012 Summer Olympics - 2012 Summer Olympics was not that great for Geeta. However, she won gold at the FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Kazakistan. She went through rigorous training under the mentorship of O.P. Yadav and Ryan Dobo at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala. She lost her opening fight with Tonya Verbeek and lost her repackage to Lazareva.
• 2012 World Wrestling Championships - Geeta won a bronze medal in the 2012 World Wrestling Championship. She beat Natalya Sinishin of Ukraine with a score of 3:0 that led her to win the match.
• 2012 Asian Wrestling Championships - Geeta won a bronze medal in the 2012 Asian Wrestling Championship. She beat Sumiya Erdenechimeg from Mongolia in the 55 kg category by 3:1.
• 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships - In the 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Phogat won the silver medal. She lost the final match to Oluwafunmilayo Adeniyi of Nigeria in the 59 kg category.
• 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships - In the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championship held in Doha, Geeta won a bronze medal.
• 2015 World Championship - In the 2015 World Championship held in Las Vegas, Phogat drew against the Japanese Kaori Icho, a nine-time world champion.

Geeta Phogat - Television

Geeta is a celebrated fraternity in the television world too. She has not only made a guest appearance, but she has also participated in various reality shows. Some of the reality shows done by her are:

• Fear Factor: Khataro Ke Khiladi Season 8 - Contestant
• Big Boss Season 11 - Guest Appearance to support Hina Khan
• Nach Baliye Season 9 - Guest Appearance in support of her sister Babita Phogat
• The Kapil Sharma Show - Guest Appearance with her sister

Geeta Phogat - Bollywood Film Dangal

Geeta also has a movie based on her life and journey in wrestling. Aamir Khan's movie Dangal, released in 2016, was one of the highest-grossing movies of that year. The film depicted the life of Geeta and her younger sister Babita. Zaira Wasim played the role of young Geeta and, Fatima Sana Shaikh played the role of elder one. It has an IMDB rating of 8.4 and, the movie clearly shows the hard work and struggle of both the sisters.

Geeta Phogat - Awards and Achievements

Geeta has won many awards and, she has made our country proud. Some of the awards won by her are as follows:

• Arjuna Award
• Gold Medal - Commonwealth Championship, 2009 Jalandhar
• Gold Medal - Commonwealth Games, 2010 Delhi
• Gold Medal - Commonwealth Championship, 2011 Melbourne
• Gold Medal - FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2012 Astana
• Bronze Medal - World Championship, 2012 Strathcona County
• Bronze Medal - Asian Championship, 2012 Gumi
• Silver Medal - Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2013
• Silver Medal - Commonwealth Championship, 2013 Johannesburg
• Bronze - Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2014
• Bronze Medal - Asian Championship, 2015 Doha

Geeta Phogat - Fans and Following

Geeta is an active social media user. She posts about her personal life and activities on various platforms. She also tries to stay connected with her fans and replies to their comments too.

Phogat has almost 900 thousand followers on Instagram and more than 700 thousand followers on Twitter.

Geeta Phogat - Sherni of Haryana

Geeta is that daughter of this nation who has made every one of us proud of herself. She is the epitome of dedication and hard work. Despite facing criticism from everyone, including her relatives, Geeta never broke down. She kept working hard and never looked back. This woman is a true inspiration for all the younger athletes who want to achieve something significant in their future.