Unheralded wrestler Sarita Mor pins hopes on World Championship to emerge as next wrestling star from India

With an Instagram handle chronicling her training regimen and flaunting her frequent travels around the globe - Sarita Mor represents the new generation of young, confident women wrestlers. She is a success story from a humble, rural background who relishes the arc lights of publicity and social media fame. But amidst the star-studded line up of women grapplers - like the Phogat sisters of the Dangal fame, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, recognition and adulation has eluded Sarita. However, it could all change for the 23-year-old after she created a big upset beating Pooja Dhanda in the selection trials for this year’s world championship. Pooja was the bronze medallist at the last year’s world championship and is tipped to be one of India’s medal hopefuls at the Tokyo Olympics. By booking a ticket to the World Championship to be held in Kazakhstan in September, Sarita has also given herself a shot at Olympic glory. Top six finishers in each of the weight categories will earn a quota place for their country for Tokyo. [caption id=“attachment_7087641” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sarita Mor represents the new generation of young, confident women wrestlers. Image courtesy: Instagram/Sarita Mor[/caption] The Wrestling Federation of India has come under fire for relaxing weight in the trials by 1 kg which allowed some of the heavier wrestlers to compete in lower weight categories. Sarita who has taken part in 59 kg events in the past got an opportunity to grapple with Pooja who has always taken part in the 57kg class. However, Sarita wants to steer away from the controversy saying she had participated in the trials as per the conditions decided by the WFI. “I banked on my defence to outwit Pooja in the selection trials. It was a tough bout. I was struggling with cramps because of dehydration,” says Sarita who was declared a 2-1 winner in the finals of the 57 kg trials. Sarita led 2-0 before she was docked a point for passivity. “I had beaten Pooja in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) and though I had lost to her in a couple of trials before, I was confident that I had the skill sets to match her.” Looking ahead to the World Championship, Sarita wants to work on her counter attacks to challenge the top ranked wrestlers. “I think my toughest opponents will be Ningning Rong of China, Grace Bullen of Norway and Odukano Adekuoroye of Nigeria.” The Haryana grappler is no greenhorn when it comes to taking part in top flight international contests having represented India in three previous world championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016. “I did not have a great run in these tournaments because I felt I lacked experience then but I am more matured now.” “The quota places for Olympics means this is a very important tournament for my career - probably the biggest. Earlier, eight quota places were handed out for the Olympics through the world championships but with just six places on offer now, there is more pressure.” Sarita’s most coveted medal to date has been the Asian Championship silver medal which she won in 2017 in New Delhi. She has been part of India’s senior national camp for last couple of years but her best coaching advice comes from her husband – Rahul Mann. Rahul has been one of India’s top wrestlers but has now been focussing more on Sarita’s career. “To concentrate on training me, he has been neglecting his own career. Hopefully I will be able to do justice to his sacrifice.” [caption id=“attachment_7087621” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sarita Mor with husband Rahul Mann . Image courtesy: Instagram/Sarita Mor[/caption] Along with Geeta Phogat-Pawan Saroha, Sakshi Malik-Satyawart Kadiyan and Vinesh Phogat- Somveer Rathi, Sarita- Rahul are yet another popular wrestling couple. Rahul reveals that there was no Bollywood-like romance preceding the marriage. “Sarita’s father is a die-hard wrestling fan and he has been attending many of my bouts. There he met Sarita’s father and the two were keen to get us married. I had met Sarita in the national camps before and have travelled together to take part in various tournaments. Since the two of us had similar family background and were involved in the same sports, we both agreed to the proposal,” reveals Rahul. “Wrestling is such a big passion for both of us that whenever we are together our only topic of discussion are the moves on the mat. At times, Sarita gets irritated that we have no other topic of conversation.” Sarita grew up in Sonepat district of Haryana and kabaddi was her first love. “However, our kabaddi coach was so strict that I gradually lost interest and took up wrestling. Coming from a rural area, my parents drew flak for allowing their daughter to take up a physical sport like wrestling. But my father never allowed these voices to reach me. He always encouraged me,” she says. “When I took my first flight to take part in a sub-junior wrestling event in Thailand, I realised, the sport of wrestling could give me fame, money and respect. While seating in the aircraft itself, I decided to become a successful wrestler and work hard towards realising this dream.” A shoulder surgery in 2012 came as a major blow forcing her to lose a couple of years of active wrestling. But she bounced back to break into the national team. “We are lucky that there is a dramatic transformation in the profile of the sport of wrestling. We have been training abroad, going for tournaments all over the world. There is corporate funding with Tata Motors sponsoring the national wrestling side and I have been receiving support from Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) as well. Wrestling is no longer a sport derided for being too rustic,” she says. The Phogat sisters and Sakshi Malik have played a big role in popularising wrestling among women in rural areas. Sarita is hopeful that her performance in the world championship will help her emerge as yet another role model inspiring more youngsters to take up the sport.