A wrestling school in UP which grooms young girls into some of the country's finest grapplers. The first time Divya Tomar stepped into the wrestling hall, she hid behind the other girls for as long as possible. She was 13, and for the first time, she was doubting her decision to become a wrestler.
The enthusiasm she had felt when she first told her parents that she wanted to try wrestling had faded bit by bit. She had not expected the week leading up to this day to be so stormy. Her parents, both farmers in the village of Mau Khas, roughly 16km from Meerut, had agreed readily. But then others in the family began objecting. Divya could only hide in a corner of the house, listening to the shouting match—her parents on one side, grandparents, uncles and aunts on the other.
But this day, her first day at wrestling school, had begun horribly. When she walked out of her house in her T-shirt and shorts, her neighbours had stared at her. Where he will touch you? And now she was hiding.
She did not want the old coach to look at her. But he did. He called out her name, introduced her to the rest of the wrestlers—both boys and girls—and paired her with a more experienced girl. By the end of the training session, Divya had forgotten the jibes, the fights, and the lewd remarks. I fell in love with wrestling. In five years, Divya went from strength to strength, winning national tournaments at the junior level.
He points to the centre of the mat. Pay attention. Divya, her short hair spiked with sweat, her lips drawn in a thin line, takes her stance. When Singh first taught a girl how to do the gitta, he was racked by guilt, shame and all kinds of confusing thoughts.
