In Pictures

Gallery|Gender Equity

At wrestling school in Indian village, women chase better life and glory

Whether they become champions or not, the girls from humble families receive rare lessons in female empowerment.

Pinky, 17, lifts dumbbells during morning fitness and practice session, on the playground at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Pinky, 17, lifts dumbbells during morning fitness and practice session. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Published On 1 Nov 2023

Driven by dreams of winning medals for their country, nearly two dozen girls and young women are training to become wrestlers in a cluster of white one-storey buildings standing on a dusty track winding through farmland on the edge of a north Indian village.

Run by a couple convinced that sport can fuel aspirations and build confidence, the Altius wrestling school in Sisai village of Haryana state, about a three-hour drive from the Indian capital, aims to change perceptions.

“There is no value of a woman in a village,” Usha Sharma, India’s first female wrestling coach, said. “In a village, an animal has more value to it than a woman, as an animal gives milk and there is cost attached to it.”

Whether they become champions or not, the girls from humble families receive rare lessons in female empowerment during their training at the residential centre Sharma set up in 2009, along with her husband, Sanjay Sihag, a sports teacher.

Sharma, 50, is a serving police officer, and her stark comments indict rural society in a country where poverty, tradition and conservative attitudes hinder women’s rights.

In the nearby fields, village women, covered from head to toe, graze cattle. Some of the students could have shared that destiny, but for the chance of a different life that the school has given them.

“When I opened the academy and we started getting medals, it felt nice to know that the same girls who used to graze cows and buffaloes were now being favoured by the men in the family,” said Sharma.

Wrestling is popular among Indian men, with thousands of training centres nationwide.

But a new generation of women was inspired by the triumph of Geeta Phogat, who became the first female Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.

Indian women won three bronze medals at the recent Asian Games in China, and last year a former Altius student won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom.

Students wrestle during a bout, in the training room at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Students wrestle during a bout in the training room at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana. The students, three of whom are boys, wake up at 4am every day, except Sunday, for morning exercises such as jogs, sprints, squats, push-ups, and ramp work, with evenings spent on mat work and bouts. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Usha Sharma, 50, who is an Assistant Sub-Inspector at Haryana's police department, reacts after an interview at home in Hisar, Haryana, India.
Usha Sharma, 50, an assistant sub-inspector at Haryana's police department, reacts after an interview at home in Hisar, Haryana. Sharma, India’s first female wrestling coach, and her husband, Sanjay Sihag, 46, funded the school in 2009, inspiring young girls to pursue the sport. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Pictures of the students and their loved ones hang on the wall next to their beds, at the Altius wrestling school's boarding hostel in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Pictures of the students and their loved ones hang on the wall next to their beds, at the Altius wrestling school's boarding hostel in Sisai. Two dozen girls and young women train in the school the cost of which is covered by state funding, while parents pay about 9,100 rupees ($109) a month for boarding and tuition, provided by a school next door. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Students take a break in between the morning fitness and practice session on the playground at The Altius Wrestling School in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Students take a break during the morning fitness and practice session on the playground at the wrestling school. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Aayush, 15, one of the three male students in Altius wrestling school, lifts weights and exercises during the morning fitness and practice session, on the playground at the school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Aayush, 15, one of the three male students in Altius wrestling school, lifts weights and exercises during the morning practice session on the playground. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
A student takes boiled eggs for breakfast after their morning fitness session at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
A student takes boiled eggs for breakfast after their morning fitness session. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Students run as a warm-up exercise before their wrestling bouts, at the training room in the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Students run to warm up before their wrestling bouts in the training room. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Wrestling coach Naveen Sihag, 28, speaks to the students in the training room during rest day, at The Altius Wrestling School in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Wrestling coach Naveen Sihag, 28, speaks to the students in the training room during a rest day at the Altius school. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Chavi, 13, folds a blanket in her room, at the Altius wrestling school's boarding hostel in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Chavi, 13, folds a blanket in her room at the school's boarding hostel. 'Hostel is like family. We work, play and study together,' says 16-year-old Swati Berwal, preparing for a training session. 'We also fight with each other just like families do, but we get support from each other.' [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Wrestling coach Naveen Sihag, 28, watches the students during their morning fitness and practice session, at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana.
Wrestling coach Naveen Sihag, 28, watches the students during their morning fitness and practice session, at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Uma Beniwal, 12, draws during rest day, on a bed at the Altius wrestling school's boarding hostel in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Uma Beniwal, 12, draws during a rest day on a bed at the school's boarding hostel. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Students wrestle in bouts in the training room at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Students wrestle in bouts in the training room. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Medals hang inside a cabinet on a wall at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, Haryana, India.
Medals hang inside a cabinet on a wall at the wrestling school. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Sonu Kaliraman , 27, who is a wrestler and a coach at Altius wrestling school, holds her sister's medals, Neelam Kaliraman, 21, who is a student wrestler at the school, as Neelam gets ready to pose for a picture at home, Sisai, Haryana, India.
Sonu Kaliraman, 27, who is a wrestler and coach at Altius wrestling school, holds medals of her sister Neelam Kaliraman, 21, who is a student at the school, as Neelam gets ready to pose for a picture at home in Sisai. Sonu represented India before suffering an injury. A former Altius student, she now coaches and inspires students with her emblematic story. [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]