Another Phogat Sister Brings Glory

Ritu Phogat on Saturday made India proud by winning the silver in the 48kg category in the ongoing World U-23 Wrestling Championship being held in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She is another of the Phogat sisters Geeta and Babita on which the superhit film Dangal is based. According to brother Rahul, Ritu Phoagt is ruthless and most menacing of the sisters when she is on the mat. Ritu fought her way to the final but was defeated by Evin Demirhan of Turkey in a thrilling bout. Though both wrestlers were tied with four points each, Demirhan was declared the winner as Ritu had received a caution point that worked against her. This was India’s first silver in the prestigious championship. Ritu said it was a mixed feeling for her. On one hand, she was happy to win silver while on the other, she was disappointed for missing out on the gold. Earlier Ritu had defeated Miglena Georgieva Selishka of Bulgaria by a 4-2 margin in the quarter finals and trounced China's Jiang Zhu 4-3 in the semi finals. Ritu’s father Mahavir Phogat felt his daughter could have done better and shouldn’t have let the gold slip out of her hands. Yet, he is proud of her achievement and believes that she has the potential to win an Olympic medal in the Olympics. In 2016, Ritu had won gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Singapore in the 48kg category. In May this year, she won a bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi.