Commonwealth Games 2018: Ritu Phogat '110 percent' certain that India's female wrestlers will win three gold medals at Gold Coast

Whenever athletes represent India on any stage, there is immense pressure on their shoulders and dealing with such mental challenges precede the ones on their chosen field of play. The magnitude of such pressures grows manifold when one is born into the Phogat family — a family that has been producing an assembly line of wrestling champions. The Phogat sisters — Geeta, Babita Kumari, Priyanka, Vinesh, Sangita — have represented India in premier events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and won the top prize in most events. [caption id=“attachment_4227211” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ritu Phogat after winning silver at the U-23 World Wrestling Championship . Twitter/@PhogatRitu[/caption] Ritu Phogat might be battling unenviable expectations, but the 23-year-old from Haryana has been making all the right noises in the field of wrestling despite the overwhelming pressure. “Everyone in our family are wrestlers. People have the expectations since I’m Geeta and Babita’s sister. I want to fulfill their expectations and hopes, but when I step on to the mat, my entire concentration is on the match,” Ritu told Firstpost on the sidelines of a promotional event organised by Skechers to launch their GoRun6 performance variant in India. Ritu’s crowning moment in her young career so far has been the silver medal in the 2017 Under-23 World Wrestling Championships held in Poland. This was India’s very first medal at this prestigious event and her achievement was considered to be an indication of the heights that were to be scaled by yet another Phogat sister. “I was aiming for the gold and everyone expected the same. So, I was upset to let them down and fail to see my country’s flag fly high,” said the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship winner. However, she added that being the first Indian woman to win a medal at the U23 event did make it a happy occasion. Though she isn’t part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, Ritu is highly optimistic about the Indian women’s chances at the marquee event. The women’s wrestling team comprising of Ritu’s sister Babita and cousin Vinesh Phogat among others is expected to return from Australia with an impressive haul of medals. “India is sending six women wrestlers, so I believe we will surely win six medals. I’m 110 percent sure of India winning three gold medals and the number can surely go up,” said a beaming Ritu. The story of the Phogat sisters, immortalised by the Hindi movie Dangal, is now part of popular folklore and has fueled the dreams of many Indians to take up the sport. The patriarch of the Phogat family, Dronacharya awardee Mahavir Singh Phogat, has opened academies in the states of Haryana and Rajasthan to impart training to interested young wrestlers. Ritu believes these academies are part of her father’s dream to train more champion wrestlers who will represent India at the biggest stages of the world. “My father wants to give other young wrestlers similar training that he gave Geeta, Babita and me,” said Ritu. Though the social media savvy wrestler has pursued excellence in wrestling with a fierce single-minded approach throughout her life, she doesn’t seem to get tired of it. “There hasn’t come a day yet where I haven’t trained for wrestling. Even if I miss one day of training it is detrimental to my fitness,” said the Asian Championships bronze medallist. Prodded further about the presence of recreation and rest days in her life, Ritu signed off with a bemused expression saying something that best personified the proud champion in her. “I haven’t won an Olympic gold yet. Where is the question of resting?”