Geeta Phogat

Geeta Phogat
Phogat with Gold Medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi
Personal information
Birth nameGeeta
Full nameGeeta Kumari Phogat
NationalityIndia Indian
Born (1988-12-15) 15 December 1988 (age 36)[1]
Balali, Haryana, India[1]
Height5 ft 0 in (152 cm)[1]
Weight62 kg (137 lb)[1]
Spouse
(m. 2016)
Sport
CountryIndia
SportWrestling
EventFreestyle wrestling
Coached byMahavir Singh Phogat
Medal record
Representing  India
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Strathcona County 55 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 55 kg
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Gumi 55 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Doha 58 kg
Commonwealth Championship
Gold medal – first place 2009 Jalandhar[2] 55 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Melbourne[3] 55 kg
Silver medal – second place 2013 Johannesburg[4] 59 kg
FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament
Gold medal – first place 2012 Astana[5] 55 kg
Updated on 20 October 2016

Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988)[1] is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first-ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She was also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Games.[5]

Personal life and family

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Geeta Phogat was born in Balali village of Charkhi Dadri district, Haryana.[6][1] Her father Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler himself and a Dronacharya Award recipient, is also her coach.[7][8]

Her sister Babita Kumari and cousin Vinesh Phogat are also Commonwealth Games gold medalists.[9][10] Both won gold medals in their respective categories in 2014 edition of Commonwealth Games. Another younger sister of Geeta Phogat, Ritu Phogat, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. Her youngest sister, Sangita Phogat is also a wrestler.

She married fellow wrestler Pawan Kumar on 20 November 2016.[11] The couple had their first child, a boy Arjun Saroha, on 24 December 2019.[12][13]

Phogat was a contestant in Khatron Ke Khiladi 8, but was eliminated, securing ninth position.[14]

Career

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2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

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Phogat won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship held in Jalandhar, Punjab between 19 and 21 December 2009.[15]

2010 Commonwealth Games

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She won India's first ever gold medal in women's wrestling at the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, beating Emily Bensted from Australia in the gold medal match with a score of 1–0, 7–0.[16][17]

2012 Summer Olympics

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Phogat won a gold medal in the Wrestling FILA Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament that concluded at Almaty, Kazakhstan in April 2012.[18] She has undergone rigorous training at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, (NSNIS), Patiala, under the guidance of chief coach O.P. Yadav and foreign expert Ryan Dobo.

Phogat was beaten in her opening fight by Canadian Tonya Verbeek (1–3).[19] She received a chance to win the bronze medal since the Canadian went to the finals. In the repechage round, she lost her first match to Lazareva from Ukraine.[1][20]

2012 World Wrestling Championships

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In the 2012 World Wrestling Championships held in Canada, Phogat won the bronze medal.[21]

In the first round, Phogat faced Maria Gurova of Russia, beating her 3:1. The second round brought a 5:0 loss for Phogat against Saori Yoshida of Japan. With the Japanese grappler making the finals, Phogat contested in the repechage round, first against Akziya Dautbayeva of Kazakhstan whom she beat 3:1 and then winning the bronze medal bout 3:0 against Natalya Sinishin of Ukraine.[22]

2012 Asian Wrestling Championships

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In the first round of the 2012 Asian Wrestling Championships, Phogat lost to her Japanese opponent Kanako Murata in a 5:0 scoreline. With the Japanese grappler entering the finals, Phogat was able to contest in the bronze medal round and won the bronze medal in the 55 kg beating Sumiya Erdenechimeg from Mongolia 3:1.

2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships

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At the tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Phogat finished second and won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 59 kg category after losing the final bout to Oluwafunmilayo Adeniyi of Nigeria.[23]

2015 Asian Wrestling Championships

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At the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha, Phogat finished third, winning the bronze medal in the freestyle 58 kg category along with Aiym Abdildina of Kazakhstan.[24] At the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, she was drawn against nine-time world Champion, the Japanese Kaori Icho, and lost to her in the opening round 0–10. With Icho qualifying for the finals, Phogat was given a chance to contest in the repechage for the bronze medal. She again lost 0–10 to her opponent, Elif Jale Yeşilırmak of Turkey.[25]

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Aamir Khan's film Dangal is loosely based on Geeta Phogat and her sisters lives.[26][27] Her role in the movie is played by Fatima Sana Shaikh and her younger self is played by Zaira Wasim.[28] Wrestler Pooja Dhanda was screened and selected to play the role of Babita Phogat in this movie, which she could not play due to an injury, and later she went on to defeat senior Phogat sister Geeta Phogat in the real life national championship.[29]

Other titles

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  • Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2013 – Silver[30]
  • Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2014 – Bronze[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Geeta Phogat". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Indian women win three gold in Commonwealth Wrestling". Zee News. PTI. 19 December 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. ^ "RESULTS – 2011 Championships". commonwealthwrestling.sharepoint.com. Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA). Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. ^ "2013 – COMMONWEALTH WRESTLINGCHAMPIONSHIPS". commonwealthwrestling.sharepoint.com. Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA). Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Geeta clinches gold to qualify for Olympics". India Today. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  6. ^ Anindita Ghosh (8 June 2016). "The Powerhouse Phogat Siblings and their Cousin - Deeta, Babita and Vinesh". Femina. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  7. ^ Hindol Basu (14 June 2015). "The hero behind 'Dangal' – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  8. ^ IANS (11 August 2014). "Wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat overlooked for Dronacharya Award – Sports". Mid-Day. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  9. ^ Meet the medal-winning Phogat sisters | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis. Dnaindia.com (10 August 2014). Retrieved on 21 November 2016.
  10. ^ "But hey, this is family...", 31 July 2010, Times of India, retrieved 11 October 2013
  11. ^ Mathur, Abhimanyu (29 January 2017). "Starry shaadi for wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Pawan Kumar". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Geeta Phogat blessed with baby boy, Hina Khan says dhakad mommy ka dhakad beta". India Today. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Geeta Phoghat shares lovely pictures of son Arjun. Calls motherhood most adorable experience". India Today. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Khatron Ke Khiladi 8: Geeta Phogat eliminated from the show". Zee News. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  15. ^ "2009 Championships". commonwealthwrestling.sharepoint.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  16. ^ Barua, Suhrid (19 August 2015). "Interview with Geeta Phogat: "I am determined to go beyond my World Championships bronze medal finish"". www.sportskeeda.com.
  17. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Geeta Phogat: Profile 2012 London Olympics". Zeenews.india.com. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Olympic wrestling: Geeta Phogat loses opening fight". Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Geeta starts with a fight, gets blown away in repechage". The Times Of India. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées". Fila-wrestling.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  22. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  23. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  24. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Geeta Phogat's World Wrestling Run Comes to an End". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  26. ^ "Aamir Khan to play Mahavir Phogat in Dangal, meets his wrestler daughters Geeta and Babita". Indian Express. 30 July 2015.
  27. ^ Mangaokar, Shalvi (30 July 2015). "This is how Aamir is preparing for his role in Dangal". Hindustan Times, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015.
  28. ^ "'Dangal' experience changed my life: Kashmiri actor Zaira Wasim". The Indian Express. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  29. ^ Once a judoka, Pooja Dhanda wants to win laurels in wrestling, Times of India, 25 February 2018.
  30. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  31. ^ "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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