From Vinesh Phogat’s village emerges Neha Sangwan, India’s newly-crowned Under-17 World Champion

Last week wrestler Vinesh Phogat received a grand welcome in Balali village on her return from Paris. Neha Sangwan, 16, stayed awake well past midnight to drape her with a garland made of currency notes. A few moments later, Vinesh, who missed out on an Olympic medal because she failed the weigh in on the morning of the final in Paris, spoke about her wish to see women wrestlers from the village follow in her footsteps and make a name for themselves.

Vinesh didn’t have to wait long to see the next generation make a mark.

On Thursday evening, Neha won the Under-17 World title in the 57 kg category with a 10-0 win over Japan’s So Tsutsui in Amman, Jordan.

“It’s a huge thing for me and this title is for Vinesh didi and all the women wrestlers. Vinesh didi remains an inspiration for us all and this world title will inspire the women wrestlers back in Balali village as well India too,” Neha told The Indian Express from Jordan after the final bout.

Neha Sangwan (second from right) after winning the world U-17 title in 57 kg final in Amman, Jordan. (Special arrangement )

Her father Amit Kumar Sangwan could hardly believe that his daughter had made the village proud just days after Vinesh’s stirring speech.

“Neha had spent the whole afternoon getting the garland made for Vinesh’s welcome last week. When she had gone on stage, Vinesh would tell her that girls like her should complete her dream. To see Neha win her first world title would have made Vinesh happy too today. It’s a special feeling for the whole of Balali village too,” Sangwan, a former sarpanch of the village, said.

In 2016, Sangwan enrolled his daughter at the academy run by coach Mahavir Phogat in the adjoining village of Jhojhu Kalan. After winning junior national medals and becoming a Haryana state champion, Neha would change coaches. It was at the Krishan akhada under coach Sajan Singh Mandola that Neha would continue to train with an eye on a big international medal. Her father would drop her at the akhada twice a day on a scooter.

Coach Mandola focussed on improving her defense which was an Achilles’ heel.

“She had the instinct to attack but then the opponents would take advantage of her weak defence. So I had to make her quicker on the mat. She would run in the fields to build stamina and also cut down on weight. I would also make her wrestler against lower-weight category wrestlers in order to help her gain some speed on the mat. Slowly, she learnt to take advantage of her movement and speed and to make the counters,” Mandola says.

Last week, at the felicitation ceremony, Neha had said that Vinesh was an inspiration. “Vinesh didi has gone where no other wrestler from the village has achieved. For us, the Olympic gold was hers and that’s what we want to tell her. If we can emulate her even in a small way, we would be glad. Didi met us before the Olympics and told us that every single one of us should dream about the Olympics. That’s what will keep us going and she remains synonymous with the Olympics for us,” she had told this paper.

Neha’s career graph has been on the rise. Two years ago she won the Asian Under-15 title in the 54 kg category. She also won the bronze medal in the 57 kg category in the World Cadet Wrestling Championships in Turkey. This year, the Haryana youngster claimed the title in the Asian U-17 Wrestling Championship in Jordan in June before winning the world’s title on Thursday.

Neha had scored a 10-6 win over Kazakhstan’s Anna Stratan in the semifinals on Wednesday. Coach Mandola remembers the moves, which Neha has mastered all these years. “She likes to practice the Lohkan move, where she shifts the hands of the opponent behind the ears to shift the body backwards and to complete the takedown. Apart from that, she also likes to make the Dhobi move, where she utilizes the waist movements to make the arm throw and also relies on the Delni move, in which when the opponent puts their hand on the side of her waist, she turns and makes the opponent fall. She is also a master in Bharandaj, the gut wrench move which helps in leg throws and she displayed that against the Kazakh in the semis to score points. She is a quick learner and this world title will help her mentally too,” the coach said.

Neha’s father Amit and mother Mujni Devi are not the only proud ones in her household. “Her grandfather is a former national level wrestler and has always supported Neha’s dream of becoming a wrestler. It’s a joyous day for him too,” Devi said.

Three other Indian wrestlers Aditi Kumari (43 kg), Pulkit (65 kg) and Mansi Lather (73 Kg) too won the titles in their respective categories on Thursday.

Indian team coach Shilpi Sheoran was impressed with the U-17 wrestlers scoring wins over wrestlers from powerhouse Japan, Kazakhstan, USA as well China. “Scoring wins over Japanese as well Kazakhstan and American wrestlers early in her career at the worlds will help Neha mentally as well technically too. All the U-17 World champions do understand that these are early days at the world level for them and things will change at the U-20 or senior level. But such wins are important and they would look to improve further,” said Sheoran while speaking with The Indian Express.

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