When Faridabad girl Shraddha Rangarh used to watch the world’s greatest martial artists like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan in films, as a toddler, she did not know one day, she’d represent India in martial arts.
The 20-year-old recently made the country proud winning a gold in the Senior Female Musical Form Hard Style category, and three silvers at the 2024 Wako World Cup in Uzbekistan.
She had also struck gold at the Delhi Olympic Games 2024 and Khelo India Women’s Kickboxing League 2023-2024.
“As a child, I just wanted to play, it didn’t matter which sport. My father wanted to make his son a martial artist, but he was born with two daughters. Since I was not a son, he did not expect that his dream would be fulfilled,” she says, looking back with a chuckle.
Rangarh excels in kickboxing, taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kerala’s Kalaripayattu and more. Her story of initial lack of family support and later encouragement resembles the plot of the film Dangal.
“After seeing me win medals, my parents were convinced about my passion for martial arts. They have become more supportive now,” she says.
The emerging sports star from India who has played in over 100 tournaments in her nine-year career, now eyes medals at the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, Bangkok 2024, Khelo India Women’s Kickboxing League, 2025 and The World Games 2025.
Rangarh’s internet game is equally strong, boasting over 3 million plus followers across Instagram and YouTube. They are hooked to her fun and informative tutorials on martial arts techniques that have even got her the ‘likes’ of celebrities Vidyut Jammwal, Bhumi Pednekar and Badshah.
However, her life hasn’t been as glittery as her gold medals or the YouTube Play Button she received in 2023. She opens up to TMS about the daily struggles of being a female athlete in India combating scepticism at home, overcoming biased coaches and a patriarchal society, and finding true joy in martial arts.
Bashing gender stereotypes
Rangarh was born in a traditional Pahadi family, to a grocery shop owner. At her home, the idea of girls entering sports was unheard of. “People used to mock me when they heard I wanted to be in sports. Relatives would tell my parents, ‘Aage kaun sahara banega tumhara, tumhari toh sirf do betiyan hein’ (who will support you in future, you have just two girls), as if girls couldn’t be a support system to their parents. It used to bother me, and I wanted to change these perceptions about girls,” she says.
Rangarh also faced bullying at school for having short hair and height. “I used to feel very alone and depressed and started developing mental health issues,” she says. Martial arts came to her rescue when she was in seventh standard. A taekwondo coach at her school saw her playing football and
appreciated her powerful kicks suggesting that she join taekwondo classes. “It’s fine to feel weak or scared sometimes. But real bravery comes when facing your fears. I joined martial arts for inner peace and happiness. It helped me immensely to fight my fears and gave me a purpose in life. I got to know who I am,” she says.
When Rangarh went for her training sessions in stadiums in Delhi-NCR, she was taken aback by gender discrimination. “In India, most of the martial arts have 98 percent boys and hardly 2 percent girls. I changed many coaches because they were not serious about training women. They think women will eventually leave sports due to household responsibilities, family pressure or in marital pursuits.
They do not expect us to have endurance and push our limits, like boys,” she tells TMS adding, that many of the coaches she has had so far “had bulging bellies, which sets a wrong role model for youngsters. If I ever become a coach, I will take coaching seriously.” An exception has been her mentor Sushil Kumar from Faridabad, who helps her with gymnastics and kicks so that she can attain flexibility and movement in my form.
A fitness queen
Rangarh has been following a strictly self-disciplined schedule since her teens. “I wake up at 4:30 am every day. My whole week is divided into two days for endurance training, one day for strength, and two days for fight and performance. I take a balanced diet of carbohydrates and protein along with protein shakes and protein bars, before matches.
I also do mental health exercises, including meditation, and consult a sports psychologist who helps me deal with stress and anxiety. I also read motivational books like The Champion Mindset by Joanna Zeiger and No Limits: The Will to Succeed by Michael Phelps and Alan Abrahamson,” she says.
Being fit as a fiddle even earned her the crown of Wean’s Miss India Fitness 2022 where she won in categories like 2 km running, bench press, deadlift, pushups, plank, and yoga pose holds. “You don’t need a king to be a queen”, she captioned her post-win picture on Instagram in 2022.
A social media star
Despite the constant grind of playing in tournaments, Rangarh takes out time to create entertaining and insightful videos. Sometimes she shares tips on survival skills with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), at other times, she shares how the right techniques weigh more than gender and weight in fighting sequences for self-defence.
However, her most liked videos are the ones where she melds fashion and sports. In one she appears in a jeans and top and makes a backhand-spring to transition into a new look wearing a skirt. In another, she makes a front flip in a t-shirt and shorts and transitions into an ethnic lehenga choli.
She also flexes the traditional Japanese hime haircut that suggest her craze for Japanese culture, the origin of martial arts like Sumo, Karate and Kendo. “I love watching Japanese anime shows like Hajime no Ippo, Naruto: Shippuden and Haikyu. I have learnt several boxing techniques like Dempsey roll, acrobatic butterfly twist, butterfly kick, 540 kick and 720 kick, from these shows.”
How is she able to juggle so many acts with aplomb? “I have learnt to compartmentalise my life with discipline. I aim to be happy and peaceful, and sports is a way to achieve that. I want to be a world champion in 2025,” she says.