Meet Mahavir Singh Phogat!
Not only was he a super daddy who pampered his girls like princesses, but he was a tough man who gave them confidence to face harsh realities. He coached them and made them ‘Champions’.
Hailing from a small village in Haryana, Balali, Phogat had to battle many hardships in raising his daughters. His wife Daya Kaur stood by him like a rock, and supported him to achieve his goals and dreams. He loved Geeta and Babita unconditionally and his actions were a proof of it. Now his daughters are someone who we can call as ‘Inspiration’. Today,
people recognize Mahavir not for his wrestling but for his impeccable coaching skills.
people recognize Mahavir not for his wrestling but for his impeccable coaching skills.
Just imagine, what would have happened if he would have forced them to get married? Would they be able to earn this name? A BIG NO. To support them Mahavir made many sacrifices, crossed many hurdles and even risked his own career. When he started with the coaching, he had no clue that Babita and Geeta would reach heights of success; all he knew was passion towards wrestling and love for his daughters.
How it all started?
Mahavir Phogat dreamt of making Geeta & Babita as world champions in Wrestling, when he saw Karnam Malleswari being honored with a bronze medal in a weightlifting competition at Olympics. Apart from Karnam’s win, there was something else that inspired Mahavir. It was his coach Chandgi Ram’s daughters, Deepika and Sonika, who were excellent wrestlers. Mahavir saw their interest in wrestling and thought he must develop this interest in Geeta and Babita too. Now, there was no looking back….
How did he train them?
Earlier, training was simple, because it was just some running in the farm, but later, it became all the more tough when Mahavir made them fight the boys. They had to handle the boys roughly, as there was no option of backing out. They used to wrestle boys in those typical ‘Akhaadas’ and would even defeat them; such was the training of MAHAVIR!
They had to sport a ‘Boy-cut’ hairstyle and had to wear shorts, which further made the villagers very furious. Mahavir was very weak financially but still didn’t give up; to ensure that his daughters participate in all competitions, he borrowed money.
Mahavir just believes in one thing “If a woman can become a Prime Minister, why can’t she be a wrestler” We salute this thought.
Awards- Fruits of Success
Mahavir has grabbed a Dronacharya Award for excellent coaching skills and not only did he coach Geeta and Babita, but trained his brother’s daughters too. Sangita, Priyanka, Vinesh, Ritu, Babita and Geeta are known as ‘Phogat sisters’ and they were lucky to get trained by him. Geeta secured India’s 1st ever Gold medal at 2010 Commonwealth Games in the women’s wrestling competition.
She made her daddy proud as she was the 1st woman wrestler to enter Olympics. Even Babita followed her footsteps by securing a Gold medal at 2014 Commonwealth Games. Her cousin Vinesh too showed the world the efforts taken by her chachaji, by reaching the quarter finals of Rio Olympics this year.
Finally, this Super-daddy has been able to change the mindset of the whole village, not with his words, but with his actions. Geeta & Babita’s granny used to hate them for being girls, but after seeing their achievements, she is indeed proud to have daughters like them! For her even 100 daughters aren’t enough now. Mahavir has also built a gymnasium for girls with high-tech equipment, so that there are no hurdles in training.
We salute Mahavir Phogat for the efforts he took and for the challenges he successfully dealt with. So how did you find this inspiring story? Do share your views in our comments section below!
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