Three and a half months ago, 17-year-old Dipanshi Phogat was yet to test herself at the senior level. Now, the youngest wrestler in India’s Asian Games squad is poised to step onto the biggest stage of her young career at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The Haryana wrestler may lack senior experience, but international podiums are hardly unfamiliar territory. Dipanshi has won three titles at the Asian Sub-Junior Championships – U-15 gold in 2022 (39kg) and 2023 (42kg), followed by the U-17 title in the 46kg category in 2024.
Now, Dipanshi, a 50kg wrestler, heads to Japan with youthful exuberance, belief and a chance to announce herself on the continental stage.
“I am physically fit and fully ready,” she told Sports Now in an interview.
“I know about my opponents. Some of my opponents have already won medals. But we have to believe in ourselves. We make strategies based on our opponents. But we also have to look at our own training. We also have to play defensively. We also make strategies based on our opponents,” she said.
Dipanshi earned her spot in India’s six-member women’s wrestling squad by acing the fiercely contested 50kg trials on her senior debut at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on May 30.
It was the same category in which the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) initially wanted Vinesh Phogat to compete. But the star wrestler chose 53kg instead and lost the final to Antim Panghal.
Asked about sharing the Phogat surname with one of India’s finest wrestlers, Vinesh, Dipanshi was unequivocal: “I have to make my own name. I am not related to her. When I was young, I didn’t know what it meant to have a Phogat surname. When I grew up, I realised that my surname is also Phogat. I don’t have any pressure on me.”
Reluctant wrestler
Dipanshi, who started wrestling at the age of eight in 2017, comes from a sports-loving family. Her father, Surender, is a wrestler, while her mother, Meenu, is a kabaddi player.
“I have a little bit of genetics. I was more focused on the game than on genetics,” said the girl from Rohtak’s Rithala village.
Encouraged by her parents, Dipanshi joined the wrestling facility at Chhotu Ram Stadium, a wrestling hub that has produced Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and is also home to two more Asian Games-bound wrestlers, Manisha Bhanwala (57kg) and Mansi Ahlawat (62kg).
Yet, for Dipanshi, the love affair with wrestling did not begin immediately. At the onset, she simply did not find the sport interesting.
“Hamare state mein to har koi wrestling karta hai (In our state, everyone wrestles). It is normal. But I didn’t like it when I was young. I liked it when I grew up, when I started understanding the sport,” she said.
Sweets can wait
As she embarks on the senior chapter of her career, Dipanshi has a clear goal: to keep getting better.
“Everyone is thinking about medals and gold. They have their own personal goals. I am getting better at wrestling,” she said.
“I am confident, and I have practiced well. I just have to perform well. I have to give my best. I request everyone to pray for me. Luckily, I will first podium finish,” she emphasised.
The youngster is keeping her taste buds in check as she chases her dream. Asked what she would have once she returned from the Asian Games, she did not hesitate. “I like Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai. But it has been long time I have not had them also ice cream and Golgappas.”
For now, though, she has to keep a close eye on her weight. She currently weighs 52kg – two kilogram above the limit for her 50kg category.
“I have to focus on my diet. I am eating something sweet,” said the youngster, adding, “I don’t eat anything from outside. I eat almonds. But I have to stop having sweets.”
Her basic diet revolves around roti, milk and curd. She has passed 12th grade with 68 per cent. “I am happy. My family is happy,” she said before adding, “I can’t do both (study and wrestling) the things. I can focus on only one thing.”
Coaches are confident
Now part of the national camp at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, Dipanshi is honing her skills under India’s national women’s wrestling coach, Virender Dahiya, and Japanese coach Kosei Akaishi.
Dahiya is confident of Dipanshi’s prospects.
“She is very young and has never competed in a senior national or international tournament. But she has defeated 2-3 Indian wrestlers and proved herself. She is a great wrestler. She has been in the camp for the past 2-3 months and is being polished every day. She has improved a lot by practising with senior wrestlers. She is improving, and I am sure she will win a medal,” Dahiya told this website.
A medal at the Asian Games will put Dipanshi in the same bracket as Vinesh, the only Indian to win the 50kg gold at the quadrennial event.