CHENNAI: Hisar resident Ashok Lamba's day begins in the wee hours as he heads for nearby villages at around 3.30am to buy milk. He then delivers the milk to his regular customers in and around the city. The day ends for the milkman at around 11 at night.
Despite the torturous schedule, which can take a toll on anybody's health, Ashok was more than happy to add yet another chore to his schedule — dropping and picking up his daughter Hansika from the wrestling academy. It was in 2018 Hansika, who was 12 then, developed an interest in wrestling. Already good at studies, Ashok was apprehensive when Hansika told him that she wanted to stay in the hostel and pursue wrestling. "She trains under coach Jasbir Singh at the Sushil Kumar Academy. The facility has a hostel for women wrestlers but letting Hansika stay there was not easy and I was apprehensive in the beginning," Ashok told this daily.
Given her daughter's love for the sport and the reputation of the coach, Ashok finally relented. But it added yet another job to his already frantic routine — delivering milk and other products to his daughter every morning. All that hard work paid dividends on Friday as Hansika stormed into the final of the 53kg weight category at the ongoing U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia confirming a medal for self and the country.
Except for her bout in the pre-quarterfinal where she conceded two points against her Kazakh opponent Zeinep Bayanova, Hansika won all the contests with technical superiority without allowing her rivals to garner a solitary point. She will face Haruna Morikawa of Japan in the final on Saturday.
She won her qualification bout 11-0 against Viktoryia Volk before beating the Kazakh wrestler 8-2. In the quarterfinal, she got the better of Uzbek wrestler Dilshoda Matnazarova 10-0 and then outclassed Carla Jaume Soler of Spain 11-0 in the semifinal.
"Her grandmother brought her to the academy in 2018. She has a good grasping power and with her immense interest, she started progressing by leaps and bounds," coach Jasbir told this daily.
The coach informed that Hansika was quite healthy in the beginning and had competed in several weight categories from 62 to 53 before zeroing on the latter with strict discipline and dedication. Hansika represented India in the 2024 U23 Worlds as well but could not qualify for the main rounds. This time, however, she was focussed and the previous experience helped her as well.
"The 2024 Worlds was her first international exposure and that might have made her nervous. This year, we were in regular touch. I kept an eye on her opponents for every round by watching their videos and that helped her a lot. I am quite confident that she can win the gold if she plays to her potential," added the coach.
Meanwhile, grandmother Savitri Devi, who initiated Hansika into wrestling, was over the moon with her granddaughter making it to the summit clash. "Her happiness knows no bounds today. She stood by her and even took the responsibility to take her to the academy and bring her back home in the beginning. We played our part but it was my mother who made the most notable contribution. I hope she keeps winning medals for the country and makes us proud," signed off the proud father.
Apart from Hansika, Sarika also entered the 59kg final where she will be up against Ruka Natami of Japan on Saturday. It turned out to be a good day for Indian women wrestlers as Nishu and Neha won a bronze medal each in the 55kg and 57kg respectively while Savita earned a shot at the third place finish in 62kg via repechage round. Priya (76kg), Pulkit (65kg), who also trains at Hansika's academy, and Sristhi (68kg) also bagged a bronze medal each.
