Wrestling: After silver at U-23 World Championships, Pooja Gehlot strengthens Olympic belief

Pooja Gehlot is being congratulated by fellow wrestlers and neighbours at her Rohtak residence. The place is not suitable to handle a big crowd but no one from the Gehlot household is complaining. After all, Gehlot has returned with a silver medal from a World Championships.

Last week at the Under-23 World Championships in Budapest, Gehlot finished second in the 53 kg category. She was the only Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at the tournament. When she returned home, the celebrations were overwhelming for the Haryana wrestler.

“At the airport and now at my home, it all looks unreal,” Gehlot said. “I was talking to my family about how I had only two t-shirts, one yellow and other orange, when I began wrestling. Now, I have a World Championships medal.”

For someone who took up the sport just five years ago, the medal marks her rapid success. Since her initiation in the sport, Gehlot has battled injuries, shifted homes and stadiums before finally finding feet at the Chhotu Ram akhada in Rohtak.

Back in January 2014 when she first stepped on the mat, Gehlot had never imagined she would come this far. The Gehlot family and the wrestler herself had reservations about choosing wrestling as her sport.

“Sharam aati thi (I used to feel shy),” she said. “The singlet was a different costume for me and I did not like wearing it. Then, I had to train with boys.”

After practicing two months at the Indira Gandhi stadium in New Delhi, she shifted base to Bankner akhada, Delhi. It was there Gehlot learned the tricks of the trade but practicing with boys had its challenges.

“Boys are stronger so they threw me around and I got injured my shoulder,” she said. “My father was worried that I will have broken ears [cauliflower ears] and no one will marry me. But I never cared about marriage. I wanted to wrestle.”

But the medal in Budapest makes her forget the hardships. She matched the best finish for an Indian woman wrestler at U-23 World Championships as Ritu Phogat finished with a silver as well in the 2017 edition. Gehlot began her quest by beating Ekaterina Verbina of Russia 8-3 followed by a 8-0 blanking of Meng Hsuan Hsieh of Chinese Taipei.

“Those two bouts were easy as I was able to finish my moves,” she said. “It was something I had practiced a lot because I did not want to do half-hearted attacks.”

In the semi-finals against Zeynep Yetgil, Gehlot committed the mistake of fake attacks and got countered. It was something she regrets. Luckily, she won 8-4 to reach the final against Haruno Okuno of Japan, a two-time senior world champion.

“I should have performed better against Okuno as well,” she said. “I initiated the move, got the hold and just when I was about to get a takedown, I lost balance and she got me. She was strong and pinned me.”

The loss did not dishearten Gehlot. She knew that it is only the beginning of the success she should have achieved a couple of years back. Instead, she was fighting to return to the sport.

“Because I trained with boys, I had some injuries in shoulder,” she said. “I kept wrestling with them so it got worse and in 2017, the doctor said I need surgery.”

It was a time when the 22-year-old was making quick strides in the sport. She had won the junior National Championships gold medal in 2015 and two years later, she was the junior Asian champion. She also won Rs 10 lakh at the Haryana government’s early dangal.

Even while she was doing rehab, she practice daily at the the akhada and gym. In Rohtak, Gehlot frequently met London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt as he visited the same gym. He would offer advice to Gehlot on a faster recovery process and wrestling.

“I look up to him and Vinesh Phogat,” she said. “If he can win Olympic medal after getting injured so many times, then why can’t I? Same for Phogat. She was back from Rio Olympics with an injury but now she is the best.”

Her success in wrestling in just five years is exceptional. Before 2014, Gehlot was a national-level volleyball player for Delhi. She played at U-13 age group and the senior nationals and won five best player-of-the-tournament awards.

“Volleyball is a team game and it was difficult for everyone to be good,” she said. “So I decided to switch to wrestling. There was no reason to pick this one. I just liked it.

“Then, at cadet National Championships in 2014, I won a silver medal and I thought this is easy. I had not practiced for even two months and I won a medal.”

Since then, it has been a happy journey for her with some speed-breakers. But Gehlot hopes that she has left her battle with injuries behind. Her silver in Budapest is an indication though a gold would have been the perfect result.

“I was itching to win a medal,” she said. “I could have won gold but never mind. I need to work on why I get pinned. Pinki also pinned me during the selection trials in August.”

That loss meant that Gehlot lost the chance to qualify India in the 53 kg for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. But she still harbours the Olympic dream and will change her weight category.

“Since Phogat is already qualified in 53 kg, I will wrestle in 50 kg so I can qualify from that weight,” she said. “I know who I have to beat and I am ready.”