Geeta Phogat first ever gold medal in women's wrestling in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2010

Geeta Phogat first ever gold medal in women's wrestling in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2010 

Full Name: Geeta Singh Phogat
Country: India
Sports: Wrestling
Weight: 55kg (Freestyle)

Geeta Phogat is the first female Indian wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. Geeta shot to the limelight when she won India's first ever gold medal in women's wrestling in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Geeta's father Mahavir Singh, a former wrestler himself, is also her coach and she has five sisters all of whom are wrestlers too.

Geeta's father braved severe criticism as he made his teenaged daughters slug it out along with village boys in the dangal. The siblings not only proved their family's unorthodox viewpoint, but created a sort of record by winning five gold medals for the country in international championships in 2009.

Geeta (55 kg) and Babita (51 kg) won golds in the Commonwealth Championships held at Jalandhar, while Ritu (44 kg), Priyanka (51 kg), Vinesh (49 kg) followed up their elder sisters' feat with golds in the Asian Cadet Championships in Pune.

Geeta Phogat Medal Record

2009 - Gold (55 kg) - Commonwealth Wrestling Championship
2010 - Gold (55 kg) - Delhi Commonwealth Games

When Geeta and her sisters began training, they were ridiculed by the community as her home state of Haryana is notorious for its gender bias and sex-selective abortion.

Geeta and her sisters were brought up as boys with her father disapproving of long hair or feminine clothes.

Geeta now trains in a fully equipped, air-conditioned gym at Asia's largest sports institute, which includes a palace built by the erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala.

It is a far cry from her initial days, when she trained in an enclosure adjoining a cattle shed in her village home.

Geeta is both excited and nervous about the Olympics in London, a city she has never seen before. But even if she does not win gold, her success has inspired girls in and around her village.

Geeta will be competing in the 55-kg category at the London Games this year. Since the success of the Phogat sisters in international tournaments, their father has started training other girls from the village in the family wrestling hall.