Published>Sat, Oct 09 10 08:47 AM
An elated Mahabir Singh, the proud father of Geeta who created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games (CWG), feels his task is not yet over. "My aim is to help my five daughters win an Olympic gold medal for the country and then do me proud," announced Mahabir after Geeta won the nation's first-ever gold medal in the 55-kg wrestling category at the Commonwealth Games.
Yearning to meet her gold medallist daughter, who would only be allowed to leave the Games village after a few days, Mahabir said that there is a long way to go. He is, however, upset that his second daughter Babita could not win the gold, as she won the silver medal in the 51-kg category today and lost to Nigerian Ifeoma Christiana Nwoye 4-7.
Mahabir, who had trained 21-year-old Geeta along with his four other daughters Babita, Ritu, Priyanka and Vinesh, had first set up an Akhara in his native village Nehlali in Bhiwani district of Haryana. He had shifted to NIS at Patiala early this year, to provide good training to her daughters ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Often chided in his village and state for making his daughters take on wrestling, a sport which was considered a male bastion in the male-dominated society in Haryana, he feels his stand has been vindicated. Today he walks proudly among his community, with all his daughters doing him proud.
"I have proved wrong all the detractors who once termed me crazy after I put all I had on the future of my daughters in wrestling. When I started off by opening the Akhara for women in my native village Behlali in 2000, people laughed at me and made fun of me and my daughters and often made unbecomming remarks. Today, they are all humbled and talk high of me and my daughters"
He said that he has proved that with strong determination and set goals, one can achieve anything if one has the will do achieve.
Source: Web Search
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