Babita Kumari

Some Lesser Known Facts About Babita Kumari

• Babita is one of the most accomplished female wrestlers in India’s history.

• She has been one of India’s top wrestlers in the 53-55kg category and performed exceptionally well at the international arena.

• Babita was born to a renowned Indian wrestler- Mahavir Singh Phogat (amateur wrestler & senior Olympics Coach).

  

• Babita, along with her sister Geeta Phogat & cousin Vinesh Phogat, has contributed a lot to change the typical mindset towards girls in their region- Haryana, which has been notorious for girl feticide and honour killing.

  

• A book, based on the life of the Phogats, claims that Babita’s parents wanted a son before she and her elder sister Geeta had born; as her father wanted a boy and make him a world-class wrestler. However, after Geeta and Babita’s birth, he broke the stereotype and started training them the basics of wrestling in his village.

• In an interview, the Phogat Sisters revealed that to focus only on their training, their father had ordered them not to wear any makeup. They were also instructed to keep short hair.

  

• His father used to bring them to various Akharas in their neighbouring villages where they mostly had to wrestle with boys; as making a career in wrestling is still considered a taboo for women in India; especially in the northern parts of the country like Haryana.

• Following their village training, the Phogat Sisters attended the National Sports Academy in Patiala.

  

• Babita shot to the limelight after her Silver medal at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

• She went on to win a Gold at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

  

• Babita, in 2012, became only the second female wrestler (first being her sister Geeta Phogat) from India to win a medal at world championships, where the duo won Bronze medals.

  

• In 2016, she qualified for the Rio Olympics; becoming only the fourth female wrestler in the country to qualify for the Olympics. However, she could not win a medal in Rio and was defeated in the first round itself.

  

• After a disappointing performance at Rio Olympics, Babita won silver at the Commonwealth Games held in Goldcoast in 2018.

  

• A Bollywood film- Dangal (2016), which is based on her father’s life & her journey towards success along-with her sister Geeta, became a blockbuster soon after its release on 23 December 2016. The film earned the Phogath Sisters a household name in India. In the film, Babita was portrayed by Sanya Malhotra and her younger self by Suhani Bhatnagar.
  

• In an interview, the Phogat Sisters claimed that their father was stricter while getting them trained than what had been depicted in the film. They said that their father had made such a strict routine that at some point in time, they had to play a trick like stealing the batteries from his torch that he used to keep watch on them, re-setting the alarm clock, and so on.

  

• In 2019, Babita, along with her boyfriend Vivek Suhag, participated in the dance reality show “Nach Baliye 9.”

  

• Babita went through a hand operation and was released from the hospital just 4 days before the trials of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.  She won a silver medal in the tournament.

  

• In 2013, the Haryana Government offered her the post of Sub Inspector (SI) in the Haryana Police for her outstanding performance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

• PM Narendra Modi has praised Babita many times for her achievements.

  

• She is a fitness enthusiast and visits the gym regularly.

View this post on Instagram

Thank u @zareennikhat for the challenge me. #HumFitTohIndiaFit #FitnessChallenge to your friends on social media . Here's my video and I challenge @shahidkapoor @geeta_kapurofficial @coachsapna @randeephooda @mohanshakti @neetimohan18 @muktimohan

A post shared by Babita Phogat (@babitaphogatofficial) on May 23, 2018 at 1:48am PDT

• Babita revealed during an interview that the conditions in her village were so worse that the females including her mother had been carrying the veil from long ago. When the Phogat sisters became popular, they asked their mother to drop the veil but no other women in their village still have the courage to do so.

• She is very affectionate towards animals.

  

• In 2019, Babita filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to promote her as deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the Haryana Police under the sports quota. However, the court dismissed her petition. ^[1]Tribune

• On 12 August 2019, Babita and her father Mahavir Phogat joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.