Babita Kumari Phogat is an Indian freestyle wrestler turned politician. She came into limelight after winning the Silver medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010. She is one of the most successful female wrestlers in Indian history.
Wiki/Biography
Babita Kumari was born on Monday, 20 November 1989 (age 29 years; as in 2018) in Bhiwani, Haryana. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. After completing her schooling, Babita enrolled herself in MDU, Rohtak to further her studies. Her father wanted his daughter to become a wrestler and began training Babita, along with her sister Geeta, from a young age. Babita often visited Akharas in her neighboring village with her father and sister and mostly had to wrestle with the boys; because pursuing a career in wrestling is still considered taboo for women in India. After receiving village training, Babita attended the National Sports Academy in Patiala.
Old picture of Babita and Geeta Phogat
Physical appearance
Height: 5′ 3½”
Weight (approx): 55 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family, Caste & Boyfriend
Babita Kumari Phogat belongs to Hindu Jat Family. His father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, was a wrestler. His mother’s name is Shobha Kaur. He has one brother, Dushyant Phogat and three sisters, Geeta Phogat, Sangita Phogat and Ritu Phogat. All his sisters are wrestlers.
Babita Phogat with her father
Babita Phogat with her mother
Babita Kumari Phogat with her parents
Babita Kumari Phogat with her sister, Geeta Phogat
Babita Kumari Phogat with her brother
Babita Kumari Phogat with her siblings
Babita Kumari Phogat with her family
Babita Kumari Phogat with her maternal grandmother
Babita married wrestler Vivek Suhag on 1 December 2019 at her ancestral village Balali in Haryana.
Babita Kumari and Vivek Suhag on their wedding day
Babita Kumari Phogat with her boyfriend
Career
wrestling
Babita started her wrestling career in 2009 with the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, where she won the Gold medal in the women’s 51 kg freestyle category. However, she rose to fame after winning the Silver medal at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. In the 2012 World Championships, Babita became the second woman wrestler (the first being her older sister Geeta Phogat) from India to win a medal at the event. Both of them won Bronze medals.
Babita Phogat’s parents with their daughter’s medal
In 2014, he won Gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Babita Kumari won Gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
After that, he qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics; becoming the fourth female wrestler from the country to qualify for the Olympics. However, he lost in the first round itself.
Babita Phogat Poses with Nita Ambani at Rio Olympics 2016
After a disappointing performance at the Rio Olympics, Phogat secured a Silver medal in women’s 55kg freestyle wrestling at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Babita Kumari Phogat with silver at 2018 Commonwealth Gold Coast
In 2019, Babita participated in the dance reality show “Nach Baliye 9” with her boyfriend, Vivek Suhag.
Babita Kumari Phogat with her boyfriend on the sets of Nach Baliye
Politics
Earlier, a supporter of the Indian National Lok Dal, Babita joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with her father Mahavir Phogat on 12 August 2019.
Babita Phogat and Mahavir Phogat Join BJP
He contested the 2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly Elections from Dadri Constituency but lost.
Controversy
In May 2018, Babita Phogat, along with her sisters Geeta, Ritu, and Sangeeta, were expelled from Lucknow National Camp due to their unexplained absence from the camp. WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told in an interview that “The wrestlers selected for the National camp are expected to report physically to the camp within three days. If they have any problem or problem they should go there and report it to the coach and find a solution. But Geeta, Babita and others (in all 13) did not. They do not communicate. This is serious indiscipline on their part and WFI feels it is time to pull the plug. So we have told them to sit at home and enjoy.”
medal
- Gold at the Jalandhar Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in the 51 kg category (2009)
- Silver at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in women’s freestyle wrestling in the 51 kg category (2010)
- Gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in the 48 kg category (2011)
- Bronze at the Strathcona County World Wrestling Championships in the 51 kg category (2012)
- Bronze at Delhi Asian Wrestling Championship in 55 kg category (2013)
- Gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in the 55 kg category (2014)
- Silver at the Goldcoast Commonwealth Games in the 55 kg category (2018)
Favorite Things
- Food: Churma
Babita Kumari Phogat has Dal Churma
- Cricketer: Virat Kohli
Babita Kumari Phogat with Virat Kohli
Facts
- Her hobbies include listening to music, traveling and cooking.
Babita Kumari Phogat cooks food
- Babita follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- Phogat with exceptional performances at the international level has become one of the best Indian women wrestlers in the 53-55 kg category.
- Babita, along with her sister Geeta Phogat and cousin Vinesh Phogat, has brought about a big change in the mindset of the people in her region, which was earlier known for female feticide and honor killings.
- A book, which is based on the life of Phogats, reveals that Babita’s parents wanted a boy before Babita and her sister Geeta were born. His father wanted to train his son in wrestling and make him a world-class wrestler. However, after giving birth to two daughters, her father broke the stereotype and started training them in the basics of wrestling in his village.
- The Phogat Sisters said during an interview that they were told to keep their hair short and not wear makeup by their father; because he wanted them to just focus on their training.
Geeta and Babita Phogat during their training session
- A Bollywood film, Dangal (2016) was made about the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat and Babita’s journey to success along with her sister Geeta. The film became a blockbuster immediately after its release on 23 December 2016 and earned Geeta and Babita widespread popularity in India. Actress Sanya Malhotra plays the grown-up Babita in the film while her younger self is played by Suhani Bhatnagar.
- The Phogat Sisters revealed in an interview that their father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, was more strict in training them than what is portrayed in the film. They said that he made such a strict training schedule that sometimes the Phogat brothers played tricks like stealing batteries from his torch that he used to watch over him and resetting the alarm clock just to get some time off for themselves.
Geeta and Babita with their father
- Babita underwent hand surgery and was released from hospital just 4 days before the 2010 Commonwealth Games trials, where she won the Silver medal.
Babita Kumari Phogat with Geeta Phogat after her hand surgery
- After winning silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Haryana Government, in 2013, offered him the post of Sub Inspector (SI) in the Haryana Police.
- PM Narendra Modi has praised Babita many times for her achievements.
Narendra Modi congratulated Babita Phogat
- He is very particular about his fitness and follows a strict exercise routine.
- In an interview, Babita revealed that the situation for women in her village is so bad that the women, including her mother, have been wearing the Ghunghat or veil for a long time. When the Phogat sisters became popular, they asked their mother to take off the veil to which she reluctantly agreed but no other women in their region still had the courage to do so.
- In 2015, Babita Kumari Phogat was honored with the Arjuna Award for her achievements in sports.
- He is often seen campaigning for the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on his social media accounts.
- Babita loves animals very much.
Babita Kumari Phogat loves animals
- In 2019, Babita filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to promote her as a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in the Haryana Police under the sports quota. He cited the case of his sister, Geeta Phogat, who was appointed DSP in the Haryana Police in 2016. However, her petition was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
