Babita Kumari Phogat (born 20 November 1989) is a former Indian professional

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and a politician from the state of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. She is a multiple

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

medalist, winning the gold medal in

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

, and silver medals at

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

and

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. When she won the 2014 Commonwealth gold medal, she became the second Indian women wrestler to win a Commonwealth gold after her sister

Geeta Phogat Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988) is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first-ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She was also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Games. Personal ...

, who had won it in 2010. Babita participated in the

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in the 53 Kg women's wrestling, though she could not make it to the podium. Earlier, she had won a bronze medal at the

2013 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships were held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India. The event took place from 18 to 22 April 2013. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's ...

tournament in New Delhi, India; and another bronze at the

2012 World Wrestling Championships The 2012 Women's World Wrestling Championships was held at Millennium Place in Strathcona County, Alberta, Canada. Traditionally, Wrestling World Championships are not held in Olympic years, but in 2012 a female championship was held because the 2 ...

. Later in 2019, after retiring from sports, Babita Phogat entered politics by joining the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

Personal life and family

Babita was born in

Balali Balali is a village in the Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana State, India. Notable personalities * Mahavir Singh Phogat, Dronacharya Awardee, father and mentor of the famous Phogat sisters — his four daughters Geeta, Babita Babit ...

village of

Charkhi Dadri district Charkhi Dadri District is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in north west India near Rajasthan border, but not sharing border with Rajasthan. Created on 1 December 2016, the district headquarters is the city of Charkhi Dadri. History ...

in a family of wrestlers. Her father

Mahavir Singh Phogat Mahavir Singh Phogat is an Indian Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler, senior Olympics coach and politician. He is the trainer and father of the Phogat sisters. The Hindi biographical film ''Dangal (2016 film), Dangal'' is loosely based on his ...

, is a former wrestler himself and recipient of India's prominent sports honor, the

Dronacharya Award The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a cha ...

. Mahavir Singh started coaching Babita and her elder sister,

from an early age.

, went on to win India's first gold medal in women's wrestling at the

in 2010. Babita's extended family includes several national and international wrestlers, including cousin

Vinesh Phogat Vinesh Phogat (; born 25 August 1994) is an Indian politician and former wrestler, who is a current member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Haryana. She won the 2024 assembly election from Julana constituency representing the Indian Nati ...

who also won gold, in the 48 kg category, at the

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

.The Powerhouse Phogat Siblings and their Cousin - Deeta, Babita and Vinesh
, Femina. Her youngest sister,

Ritu Phogat Ritu Kumari Phogat (born 2 May 1994) is an Indian mixed martial artist who competed in the Atomweight division of ONE Championship. She is also a female wrestler who won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. Early and ...

, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016

Commonwealth Wrestling Championship The Commonwealth Wrestling Championships is an international wrestling championship for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations. They are organized by United World Wrestling's (UWW) Commonwealth Wrestling Committee. Editions References E ...

. Her younger sister,

Sangita Phogat The Phogat sisters are six sisters from Haryana, India, all of whom are wrestlers. In order of their birth, they are Geeta, Babita, Priyanka, Ritu, Vinesh, and Sangeeta. Geeta, Babita, Ritu, and Sangeeta are daughters of former wrestler an ...

is also a wrestler. Babita, along with her sisters and cousins, have contributed to a change in mindset and attitude towards girls and women in home-state Haryana and rest of the nation. In June 2019, Babita announced her engagement to fellow wrestler Vivek Suhag, whom she later married in November of the same of year. She and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby boy, on January 11, 2021.

Career

Early Career (2009 - 2013)

2009 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

In the tournament in Jalandhar, Punjab, Babita won the gold medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category.

2010 Commonwealth Games

At the

, Babita won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category after being defeated by Ifeoma Christi Nwoye of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in the gold medal match with the score of 0–2, 4–5.

2011 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

In the tournament held in Melbourne, Australia, Babita won the gold medal in the women's freestyle 48 kg category.

2012 World Wrestling Championships

In the Round of 16 of the

, Babita faced Hsin-Ju Chiu of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

whom she beat 5:0. Her quarter-finals opponent was

Risako Kawai is a Japanese wrestler. She is a two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Games, a three-time gold medalist at the World Wrestling Championships and a four-time gold medalist at the Asian Wrestling Championships. She finished second at the 2015 Wo ...

of Japan whom she beat 5:0 to qualify for the semi-finals. She lost 1:3 to Jessica Anne Marie MacDonald of Canada in the semi-finals. She was then able to contest for the bronze medal which she won in the women's freestyle 51 kg category by beating

Zamira Rakhmanova Zamira Alimradovna Rakhmanova (; born December 28, 1985, Kaspiysk, Dagestan ASSR, USSR) is a female wrestler from Russia of Lezgin ancestry. Zamira participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially t ...

of Russia 5:0.

2013 Asian Wrestling Championships

At the

tournament in New Delhi, India, Babita won the bronze medal in the women's freestyle 55 kg category along with Han Kum-ok of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Prime Career (2014 - 2018)

2014 Commonwealth Games (Gold Medal)

In the women's freestyle 55 kg category at the

, Babita's first opponent in the quarter-finals was Kathryn Marsh of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

whom she beat 9–2, 4–0 (classification points 4:1). Her opponent in the semi-finals was Louisa Porogovska of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

whom she beat 2–0 (classification points 5:0) – victory by

fall Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

(wrestling terminology). In the gold medal bout, she was up against

Brittanee Laverdure Brittanee Laverdure (born March 1, 1982) is a wrestler competing for Canada. She won a silver medal in the 55 kg freestyle at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, l ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

whom she beat 5–0, 4–2 (classification points 3:1) to win the gold medal.

2014 Asian Games

Babita was not able to repeat her Commonwealth Games feat at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, South Korea. In the Round of 16 of the women's freestyle 55 kg category, she faced Srey Mao Dorn of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

whom she beat 5:0. In the quarter-finals, she faced Aiym Abdildina of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

whom she beat 3:1. She lost 0:4 to Olympic champion

Saori Yoshida is a Japanese former freestyle wrestler. Starting in 1998, she won almost every major competition, including three Olympic Games, four Asian Games, and 13 world championships, and became the most decorated athlete in freestyle wrestling history ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the semi-finals. She was able to contest for the bronze medal but lost 1:3 to her opponent Xuechun Zhong of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

2015 Asian Wrestling Championships

Babita defeated Abdy Kadyrova Elsa of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

10–0 in the quarterfinal of the

2015 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships was held at the Aspire Dome Volleyball Hall in Doha, Qatar. The event took place from 6 to 10 May 2015. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle ...

, after getting the better of Zukhra Mustanova of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

by the same margin in the qualification round. Babita failed to enter the final as she lost her semifinal bout to Pak Yong-Mi of

, losing in the last five seconds. With a chance for a podium finish, Babita lost to Zhuldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva of

3–6 in the bronze medal play-off.

2016 Rio Olympics

Babita became the third and final entry from India in the women's wrestling for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. She represented India along with her cousin

. She qualified for the Rio Games after her opponent failed a doping test in the qualifying tournament and the quota was given to India. In the first round, Babita, who was competing in the women’s 53 kg class, faced Maria Prevolaraki of Greece, who displayed a tight defense gaining points in both the three-minute periods, wherein 26-year-old Babita initially got a leg hold on her rival, but eventually lost the match 1-5, bowing out of Olympics.

2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Babita Kumari Phogat won the silver medal in women's;53 kg freestyle wrestling at

in Gold Coast.

Popular culture

The film '' Dangal'', which was released in 2016, is loosely based on the story of her and her elder sister,

. Babita was portrayed by

Sanya Malhotra Sanya Malhotra (born 25 February 1992) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. She has had supporting roles in the sports film ''Dangal (2016 film), Dangal'' (2016) and the action film ''Jawan (film), Jawan'' (2023), both of wh ...

and her younger self by Suhani Bhatnagar.

Politics

In August 2019, she joined the

after expressing support for Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

and his policies for sports promotion. She lost to Sombir Sangwan in October 2019 in Haryana assembly elections from

Dadri (Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituency) Charkhi Dadri Assembly constituency is one of the 90 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Haryana state in northern India. Overview Dadri (constituency number 56) is one of the 2 Assembly constituencies located in Charkhi Dadri District. This const ...

Filmography

Television

Other titles

* Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2010 – Sixth place * Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2012 – Bronze * Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament, 2014 – Silver

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumari, Babita Indian female sport wrestlers Sportswomen from Haryana Living people Wrestlers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games gold medallists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2014 Asian Games 1989 births World Wrestling Championships medalists Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers for India 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Female sport wrestlers from Haryana Phogat sisters Asian Games competitors for India Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Haryana Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Wrestling Championships medalists Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games