Marriage can wait, want more medals, say women wrestlers

NEW DELHI - They speak about practice sessions, technique and the challenges faced by them until now. But mention marriage and the women wrestlers - most of them in their 20s - say a loud ‘naw’. “Marriage can wait, we want to concentrate on our game first,” they say in unison.

At a press meet in the capital Saturday, Alka Tomar who won a gold in the 59 kg freestyle category said: “I am not interested in marriage.”

“Right now I am very happy to win a gold in the Commonwealth Games and now have my eyes on winning a gold in the Olympics. That will complete my list of victory in every championship.”

Recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2007, Tomar has won many championships and hails from the Muzzafarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Geeta, another wrestler who won a gold, was more uninhibited. When asked about her marriage plans, she chuckled: “Right now there are no plans, but there will be in the future. Who do I get married to is a question…I may marry a wrestler - some are quite good looking!”

Among the other women wrestlers present at the press meet were Babita Kumari, Geeta’s younger sister, who won a silver in the freestyle 51 kg category, Suman Kundu, who won a bronze in the 63 kg category, and Anita, who won a gold in the freestyle 67 kg category.

Looking somewhat disappointed, Babita said: “I was hoping to win a gold and I put in my 100 percent. But may be there was something wrong with my technique.”

According to Geeta, the women have been practising for the Games for the past two years. She said she faced her toughest competition during the semi-finals against Nigeria. “When I won the semis, I knew the gold was mine,” she said.

Tomar said: “We knew that Canada and Nigeria were our toughest competitors and we watched their videos to understand their techniques.”

For all the girls, their feats in the Commonwealth Games have brought them more glory than any other championship ever.

“I have won other championships but hardly anyone knew my name. But with the Commonwealth Games, I have become so popular in my country! My entire village is celebrating. We all come from small villages and have had to face a lot of challenges to pursue our passion. With this feat, we have proved ourselves,” Tomar said.

While Babita, Suman and Geeta are students, Alka works for the telephone department in Delhi and is also pursuing her Masters in physical education. Anita is a head constable with the Haryana police.

Talking about job opportunities, coach P.S. Sondhi said that while the Indian Railways have been promising jobs for women wrestlers for two years now, nothing has been done yet.

“We request the railways to give these girls jobs at least now when they have brought such glory to the nation,” Sondhi said.