CHENNAI: Geeta Phogat last took the mat for a competitive wrestling bout in 2018. Back then, she finished third at the Yasar Dogu international event in Istanbul, Turkey. A lot has changed since then with India's first Commonwealth Games gold medallist giving birth to a baby boy in December 2019.
The pregnancy meant she gained weight and had to shed almost 35 kg to fulfil her ambition of getting back on the mat. The hard work she put in in the last one-and-half-year paid dividends as she qualified for the senior nationals scheduled at Nandini Nagar, Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) from Thursday.
"I was around 93-94kg after I gave birth to my child. But keeping away from the sport you love is difficult. Even when I was pregnant, I was thinking about a comeback because wrestling gives me satisfaction which nothing can give," Geeta, who will compete in 59kg, told this daily.
It all began with losing the excessive weight and getting back to her best shape. "Stamina and speed play a vital role in contact sports like wrestling. Stamina was never an issue for me because of the hard work I did in childhood but getting back the speed was not easy. Executing wrestling moves with speed was the toughest thing," added the Dangal girl.
The wrestler, whose last stint in the nationals came in 2017, produced some of her best results in 55kg — 2010 CWG gold and 2012 Worlds bronze but she chose 59kg weight category to make a comeback. "It's been more than three years so I thought 59kg would be appropriate. The 2024 Paris Olympics is the ultimate goal so I would switch to 57kg, which is an Olympic division. I cannot compete in 62kg as my sister Sangeeta (Bajrang Punia's wife) is competing there. I know the 57kg is a competitive category with Worlds medallists Anshu Malik and Sarita Mor there but I would love to compete against these good young wrestlers. The aim is to start representing the country again," said Geeta, who will take the mat on Friday.
The top-two finishers from each weight category in the nationals will get a chance to represent India in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships scheduled in Pretoria, South Africa from December 3 to 5.
Besides Geeta, the nationals will also witness participation from wrestlers like Sakshi Malik (62kg), Narsingh Yadav (74kg) and Rahul Aware (61kg). However, the wrestlers who represented the country in the Tokyo Olympics will be conspicuous by their absence. Sonam Malik (62kg) underwent elbow surgery and recovering from it. Similarly, Vinesh Phogat (53kg) and Anshu are also recovering from their respective injuries. In the men's event, Tokyo Games medallists — Bajrang (65kg) and Ravi Dahiya (57kg) — will be missing from action along with Deepak Punia (86kg).