With wrestling in her genes, Tapasya Gehlawat becomes Under-20 World Champion

But it was the feats of her great grandfather that provided Parmesh the inspiration to ensure there is a wrestler in the future generation too.

“My grandfather Chaudhary Hazari Lal was renowned for his bouts in our village Khanpur Kalan. He would talk to us about the various wrestling moves. When Tapasya was born, she was our first child and a lot of relatives would taunt us that it was a girl-child. I was a school games national champion but quit wrestling due to an injury. But I always thought about making my child — whether a girl or boy — a wrestler. When I decided to put Tapasya in wrestling nine years ago, I faced a lot of resistance from my family members and relatives too. They asked chhori wrestling karegi kya? (will a girl wrestle?) But then I wanted to see Tapasya winning medals for India one day. To see Tapasya become the Under-20 World champion is a message to all of those who oppose girls taking up wrestling. This is a special moment for all of us,” Parvesh told The Indian Express.

Wrestler Tapasya Gehlawat with coach Kulbir Rana at Yudhvir Akhara in Sonepat.

It was in 2016 that a young Tapasya, eldest of two siblings, would first train at a local academy at her village. But with the academy not being the best in terms of facilities, Parmesh would take his daughter to train under coach Kulbir Rana at Yudhvir Akhara near Sonepat — more than 100 kms from their home. It also meant that the small-time farmer, who owns 1.5 acres of land, had to convince his wife Naveen Kumari, a teacher, that it was okay to send their daughter away to Sonepat, where she would have to be on her own at the academy.

“When I decided to shift a 13-year-old Tapasya to the academy in Sonepat, it was a decision to make her wrestling dreams come true. My wife Dr Naveen Kumari would initially oppose this idea but then she understood that it’s for Tapasya’s well being. There would be times when people in the village would taunt us for sending our daughter alone to Sonepat. Tapasya too was very young but it was her willpower to do something for the country that has brought her success. The coach Kulbir would tell us not to worry and he would treat Tapasya like his own daughter. We still have a loan of Rs 5 lakh to repay. We took it to fund the coaching of Tapasya and her brother Daksh, who is a wrestler too. But then that is nothing as compared to what Tapasya has achieved for India,” Parmesh said.

The decision to make Tapasya a wrestler proved to be the right one as she made a mark early in the sport.

The youngster would win junior state titles and national titles before she became the Under-20 junior Asian Champion in the 57 Kg category in Thailand last year. She also won the silver in last year’s nationals in Jaipur. The Haryana youngster would also become the National Games champion this year before she won the trials in the 57 Kg category for the Senior World Championships to be played later this year.

“Initially, when she came to train, she was weak but was very flexible. Some moves like leg attacks came naturally to her and we worked on making her body strong and to build her stamina to fight on mats. She would master moves like the double leg attacks too and there were times when she would not go home even for festivals and other occasions. She would move up to 62kg and 65 kg too but then it was 57 Kg which suited her style,” the coach recalled.

At Samokov, Tapasya first pinned Dolzhon Tsyngueva followed by her win over Romaissa El Kharroubi of France. In the semi-finals, Tapaswa scored a 4-3 win over reigning Under-20 world champion Japan’s Sowaka Uchida, who was undefeated in her last 40 international bouts. The Haryana youngster had called up the coach to discuss her strategy prior to the bout against Uchida. “The Japanese’s strategy was to wrestle from a distance and the key for Tapasya was to go near her and not to wrestle from a distance. Uchida is also very good in feigning attacks while she makes another move but Tapasya adjusted well to her gameplan and would also go for her double leg attacks. In the last few seconds, she tried the move Kalajjang (Fireman’s Carry) and emerged as the winner,” coach Rana said.

In the final, the Haryana wrestler scored a 5-2 win over Norway’s Domajeva, who had become the first Norwegian wrestler to reach the Under-20 world finals in the last 15 years. “Tapasya used double leg attacks against her and was quick in getting out of reach of the Norwegian when she tried. In 57 kg speed as well stamina is the key too and Tapasya has the right balance of height as well agility in this category. The only time I feel she becomes lazy is when she has to celebrate her wins,” the coach said.

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More

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