Babita Kumari

Personal life and family

Babita was born in Balali village of Charkhi Dadri district, Haryana in a family of wrestlers. Her father Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a former wrestler himself and recipient of India's prominent sports honor, the Dronacharya Award. Mahavir Singh started coaching Babita and her elder sister, Geeta Phogat from an early age. Geeta Phogat, went on to win India's first gold medal in women's wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Babita's extended family includes several national and international wrestlers, including cousin Vinesh Phogat who also won gold, in the 48 kg category, at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Her youngest sister, Ritu Phogat, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. Her younger sister, Sangita Phogat is also a wrestler. Babita, along with her sisters and cousins, have contributed to a change in mindset and attitude towards girls and women in home-state Haryana and rest of the nation.

In June 2019, Babita announced her engagement to fellow wrestler Vivek Suhag, whom she later married in November of the same of year. She and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby boy, on January 11, 2021.

Career

Early Career (2009 - 2013)

2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

In the tournament in Jalandhar, Punjab, Babita won the gold medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category.

2010 Commonwealth Games

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Babita won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category after being defeated by Ifeoma Christi Nwoye of Nigeria in the gold medal match with the score of 0–2, 4–5.

2011 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

In the tournament held in Melbourne, Australia, Babita won the gold medal in the women's freestyle 48 kg category.

2012 World Wrestling Championships

In the Round of 16 of the 2012 World Wrestling Championships, Babita faced Hsin-Ju Chiu of Taipei whom she beat 5:0. Her quarter-finals opponent was Risako Kawai of Japan whom she beat 5:0 to qualify for the semi-finals. She lost 1:3 to Jessica Anne Marie MacDonald of Canada in the semi-finals. She was then able to contest for the bronze medal which she won in the women's freestyle 51 kg category by beating Zamira Rakhmanova of Russia 5:0.

2013 Asian Wrestling Championships

At the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships tournament in New Delhi, India, Babita won the bronze medal in the women's freestyle 55 kg category along with Han Kum-ok of North Korea.

Prime Career (2014 - 2018)

2014 Commonwealth Games (Gold Medal)

In the women's freestyle 55 kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Babita's first opponent in the quarter-finals was Kathryn Marsh of Scotland whom she beat 9–2, 4–0 (classification points 4:1). Her opponent in the semi-finals was Louisa Porogovska of England whom she beat 2–0 (classification points 5:0) – victory by fall (wrestling terminology). In the gold medal bout, she was up against Brittanee Laverdure of Canada whom she beat 5–0, 4–2 (classification points 3:1) to win the gold medal.

2014 Asian Games

Babita was not able to repeat her Commonwealth Games feat at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. In the Round of 16 of the women's freestyle 55 kg category, she faced Srey Mao Dorn of Mongolia whom she beat 5:0. In the quarter-finals, she faced Aiym Abdildina of Kazakhstan whom she beat 3:1. She lost 0:4 to Olympic champion Saori Yoshida of Japan in the semi-finals. She was able to contest for the bronze medal but lost 1:3 to her opponent Xuechun Zhong of China.

2015 Asian Wrestling Championships

Babita defeated Abdy Kadyrova Elsa of Kyrgyzstan 10–0 in the quarterfinal of the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, after getting the better of Zukhra Mustanova of Uzbekistan by the same margin in the qualification round. Babita failed to enter the final as she lost her semifinal bout to Pak Yong-Mi of North Korea, losing in the last five seconds.

With a chance for a podium finish, Babita lost to Zhuldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva of Kazakhstan 3–6 in the bronze medal play-off.

2016 Rio Olympics

Babita became the third and final entry from India in the women's wrestling for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She represented India along with her cousin Vinesh Phogat. She qualified for the Rio Games after her opponent failed a doping test in the qualifying tournament and the quota was given to India. In the first round, Babita, who was competing in the women’s 53 kg class, faced Maria Prevolaraki of Greece, who displayed a tight defense gaining points in both the three-minute periods, wherein 26-year-old Babita initially got a leg hold on her rival, but eventually lost the match 1-5, bowing out of Olympics.

2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Babita Kumari Phogat won the silver medal in women's;53 kg freestyle wrestling at 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

Popular culture

The film Dangal, which was released in 2016, is loosely based on the story of her and her elder sister, Geeta Phogat. Babita was portrayed by Sanya Malhotra and her younger self by Suhani Bhatnagar.

Politics

In August 2019, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after expressing support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies for sports promotion. She lost to Sombir Sangwan in October 2019 in Haryana assembly elections from Dadri (Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituency).

Filmography

Television

Other titles

• Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2010 – Sixth place
• Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2012 – Bronze
• Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2014 – Silver

References

References

1. "BABITA KUMARI". [[Commonwealth Games Federation]].
2. (19 December 2009). "Indian women win three gold in Commonwealth Wrestling". [[Zee News]].
3. "RESULTS – 2011 Championships". Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA).
4. "Babita clinches bronze in World Championships". [[Hindustan Times]].
5. (12 August 2019). "Babita Phogat and Mahavir Phogat join BJP".
6. Anindita Ghosh. (8 June 2016). "The Powerhouse Phogat Siblings and their Cousin - Deeta, Babita and Vinesh".
7. Hindol Basu. (14 June 2015). "The hero behind 'Dangal' – Times of India".
8. IANS. (11 August 2014). "Wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat overlooked for Dronacharya Award – Sports".
9. "Meet the medal winning Phogat sisters".
10. (11 August 2014). "Wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat overlooked for Dronacharya Award".
11. [https://www.femina.in/achievers/the-success-of-the-phogat-sisters-geeta-babita-and-vinesh-all-wrestling-champs-is-a-story-worth-emulating-7019.html The Powerhouse Phogat Siblings and their Cousin - Deeta, Babita and Vinesh] {{Webarchive. link. (28 March 2019 , Femina.)
12. "'Phogat sisters' build their legacy in wrestling".
13. "Meet the medal winning Phogat sisters {{!}} Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis".
14. (6 June 2019). "Babita Phogat all set to get married | off the field News - Times of India".
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16. Chetan Sharma. (8 October 2010). "CWG wrestling: Anita, Alka win gold, Babita bags silver". Web India.
17. "International Wrestling Database".
18. "Glasgow 2014 – Babita Kumari Profile".
19. "Athletes_Profile {{!}} Biographies {{!}} Sports".
20. "Sakshi Malik, Lalita Win Bronze in Asian Wrestling Championship".
21. "Indian Wrestlers Fail to Make a Mark in World Wrestling Championships".
22. (11 May 2016). "Khatri, Babita bag Rio berths, take Indian wrestlers' count to 8".
23. (2016-08-18). "Babita Kumari loses her wrestling bout, bows out of Rio Olympics 2016 – Firstpost". Firstpost.
24. (12 April 2018). "CWG 2018, Wrestling highlights: Sushil Kumar, Rahul Aware win gold medal; Babita Kumari wins silver; Kiran wins bronze".
25. (30 July 2015). "Aamir Khan to play Mahavir Phogat in Dangal, meets his wrestler daughters Geeta and Babita".
26. "This is how Aamir is preparing for his role in Dangal".
27. "Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar visit Aamir Khan post his injury". Bollywood Mantra.
28. (12 August 2019). "Wrestler Babita Phogat, father Mahavir join BJP, Kiren Rijiju welcomes wrestler duo".
29. "Home".
30. "International Wrestling Database".