CHENNAI: For the first couple of days Indian wrestlers struggled to make their presence felt at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia as none of them could finish on the podium. At a time when the country needed a big boost to bring their campaign back on track, Tanu Sharma from a nondescript village in Haryana stormed into the final of the 72kg weight category assuring India a medal on Tuesday.
Tanu might have to settle for a silver medal after losing to Chisato Yoshida of Japan but by doing so she opened India's account in the tournament. Her story is as captivating as her campaign at the ongoing tournament. Hailing from Bhaklana village of Hansi district, 20-year-old Tanu is the lone athlete from her family. Virendra Shastri, her father, is a Sanskrit teacher in a government school while mother Suman Lata is a housewife. Second among three siblings, Tanu's elder sister Priyanka has completed MA B.Ed while her younger brother Aditya, a class XI student, is preparing for a career in medicine. More importantly, Tanu herself has appeared in BA final year examinations and awaiting results.
So how did a daughter of a Sanskrit teacher decide to pursue wrestling? "My younger brother Narendra Fauji wanted her to be a wrestler," the father told this daily. Explaining the rationale behind his brother's decision, Shastri said, "Tanu was physically strong since she was a toddler. When she was in class 3, a dog attacked her. She fought back and chased the dog away. She got bitten but didn't reveal it to us. Three days later, I came to know about it and took her to hospital. She was administered rabies injections but she didn't cry. This all convinced us that she can do well in wrestling."
Tanu started training under renowned coach Sanjay Sihag when she was 10 and recently moved to SAI Sports Academy in Hisar of late. "Sihag sir developed her as a wrestler. The credit goes to him," added Shastri. All those years of hard work and dedication culminated on the podium on Wednesday as Tanu won a medal on her international debut. She started her campaign with a 6-0 win over Petra Mueller of Hungary. Tanu then overcame Russian Liliana Kazmina 9-5 to make it to the semifinal. The last-four bout turned out to be a walk in the park for the Indian wrestler as she beat Zahra Karimzada of Azerbaijan 11-0 by technical superiority.
"She might look like a misfit in our family but trust me everyone in the family including my wife always encouraged Tanu once she decided to take up the sport professionally. My wife always wanted her children to choose their careers. She always tells them, especially the daughters, to carve a niche for themselves and not end up in a kitchen."
Coach Sihag said Tanu can be a long term prospect for the county in the heavy weight categories. "Usually, wrestlers from Canada and USA dominate in heavy weight categories but Tanu is a good wrestler. She is still young and will only get better with experience," the coach said.
Two more women in finals
Meanwhile, Savita (62kg) and Kajal (76kg) also reached the final in their respective weight categories on Wednesday. Savita will take on Sakura Onishi of Japan while Kajal will play Jingru Sun of China on Thursday. Hansika Lamba made it to the repechage round in the 55kg weight category. She will be up against Valeryia Mikitsich of Belarus. Yashita made an early exit from the 65kg weight division.
