Vinesh Phogat, Indian wrestling’s poster woman, has competitors. Nineteen-year-old Antim Panghal, the nation’s first-ever under-20 world wrestling champion, needs to set the bar so excessive that “nobody (in India) can ever break my data.” Each Vinesh and Antim are from Haryana however their commonality ends there. In a contemporary episode of the ‘Match India Champions Podcast’ launched on Saturday, Antim talks about her decision to ‘not contact jalebis at the least for a yr’ and why she needs to emulate her idol, the two-time Olympic medalist, Sushil Kumar.
“I’ve by no means met Sushil Pehelwan however I used to be blown away after I heard his work ethic and the way laborious he ready to win an Olympic medal. I actually need to be like him and if he was the gold customary in males’s wrestling, I would like folks to say that Antim is the final word in ladies’s,” mentioned a candid 19-year-old to podcast host Ekta Vishnoi.Â
The ‘Match India Champions’ podcast collection is aimed toward spreading the message on wellness via conversations with athletes and well being influencers. The ten-episode collection is in partnership with GOQii, a serious stakeholder within the health sector that proactively manages well being via its digital and multimedia expertise.
Antim, who has certified for the Paris Olympics 2024 within the ladies’s 53 kg class, revealed that selecting wrestling as a profession was the most effective choice she made in life. Coming from a household the place elder sister (Sarita) and father Ram Niwas had been kabaddi gamers, Antim determined to take up wrestling as a result of “it is a person sport and choice in any nationwide squad depended solely on laborious work and nothing else. I noticed how unhappy my sister can be when she was not chosen.”
Antim’s profession as a wrestler began on the native dangals (wrestling competitors) often held at akhadas (colleges) with mud pits. “I used to be taking part in and profitable lots within the dangals and after I switched to mats on the cadet stage, I used to be by no means scared. In 2019, I discovered that one can play within the 2024 Olympics provided that I do a whole lot of laborious work with full dedication and self-discipline,” mentioned Antim, including that she trains about eight hours day by day beneath coach Bhagat Singh.
“My dad and mom and my sisters proceed to help me and in Bhagat Singh, I’ve a mentor who not solely retains me on my toes however takes care of each element in my preparation. I haven’t got to look past my coach for further motivation as a result of we’re steadfast in our objectives and goals,” mentioned the United World Wrestling Rising Star of the Yr 2023.
Though she nonetheless has lots to do to meet up with Vinesh Phogat, the primary Indian girl wrestler to win gold medals on the Commonwealth and Asian Video games and a a number of world championships medalist, Antim Panghal, 10 years junior to Vinesh, is set that she’s going to set a number of data that shall be “laborious to beat.”
“Successful an Olympic medal is my dream. It is a household venture and if I can try this I might have reciprocated the sacrifices my dad and mom and sisters made for me,” mentioned Antim, whose father moved from the village to Hissar city and purchased a buffalo to make sure his daughter was by no means quick on contemporary milk!
“Doodh (milk) and ghee grew to become my staples as a result of my dad and mom simply wouldn’t let me go. Now I’m used to them and naturally complement my meals with fruits, nuts and dalia, roti and sabji (greens). I really like lassi,” Antim mentioned with a chuckle.
Antim is a candy tooth, too. “I really like jalebis however on my final birthday, have promised my coach that I cannot have even one until my subsequent birthday on August 31, 2024. It is a decision as a result of I’ve a aim to satisfy and I’m fairly decided,” mentioned Antim.Â
The wrestling competitors at Paris 2024 shall be held between August 5 and 11 on the Champ de Mars Enviornment. If Antim manages to win a medal on her Olympic debut, not simply jalebis, she may have the world at her toes.Â
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a press launch)
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