The Golden Girl Vinesh Phogat

When a player lowers his head to wear a medal, the heads of thousands of his countrymen are raised with pride and glory. One player unites everyone in the country. Wrestling is considered to be one of the oldest sports in the country.

Vinesh Phogat. Image Credits: The Hindu

Haryana is considered to be the hub of wrestling. And the biggest name in this world of

wrestling or kushti is the Phogat family of Balali village of Haryana. A family of six daughters,

raised and coached by Mahavir Phogat, a national wrestler himself. All these daughters were

trained in the sport at a time when even thinking about girls wrestling was considered a sin. One

such talented wrestler is Vinesh Phogat, also known as the golden girl of Indian wrestling.

"I am a wrestler. Through my sport, I want to make it known to the world that a girl can really do

anything. They also have the same courage and strength. A sport doesn't see whether it is a

man or a woman. It sees dedication and spirit", says Vinesh.

Vinesh's father was murdered when she was an infant. After that she was raised and brought up

along with her cousin sisters Geeta, Babita and introduced to the world of wrestling by his uncle

Mahavir Phogat. She believes that God came into her life in the form of his uncle and made her

the woman she is today.

Vinesh won her first international medal in 2009 and, since then, there's no looking back for her.

She broke many records in the field of women's wrestling and was the first Indian wrestler to

qualify for World Wrestling Championship by finishing on the top six. She has won over ten

international medals in her overall Wrestling career, including Asian games gold and three

consecutive gold medals in the Commonwealth Games.

Vinesh qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after defeating Iwona Matkowska of Poland. She lost

in the quarterfinal round from Sun Yanan of China due to a knee injury.

The road uphill wasn't an easy one for her. She almost thought of quitting the sport last year

after a heartbreaking first round defeat at the Tokyo Olympics. But she made a fine comeback

on the mat winning the gold in 53 kg category in the ongoing Commonwealth Games. Filled with

rock solid determination, she aims to bring many more medals for the country.