Born in perhaps the most unlikely of places to become a wrestling sensation, Pooja Dhanda’s story has all the elements of an inspiring sports biopic.
As she works on achieving the next goal in her wrestling career, McKinney has made a friend in Olympic gold medallist Helen Maroulis, 20, who idolized her and said: “I love watching her.”
Pooja Dhanda grew up in Hisar, where she began to run on long jogs in the countryside with her father.
She was seven years old when she found her passion for sports. Through wrestling, she made a name for herself in the world of sports.
Pooja Dhanda’s journey to success started at the age of four when her mother enrolled her in judo classes.
Pooja Dhanda was born to be a judoka. Several national and international medals later, she is one of India’s top athletes.
After an encounter with wrestler Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, she decided to join the sport in 2009
Bishnoi believed that Dhanda had the raw talent and needed to be groomed for wrestling. He was proven right by Dhanda’s display at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Aided by her previous training in judo, Dhanda had an obvious advantage over her competitors––her powerful upper body helped her dominate opponents with ease.
She eventually moved to represent Canada, ending the year as a silver medallist in the 60kg category at the 2010 Youth Olympics.
After riding the junior circuit for a few years, Pooja Dhanda entered the senior circuit in 2014 with the purpose, taking gold at the Commonwealth Championships, grabbing a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Championships.
Determined to make a full comeback, she had reconstructive surgery in January 2017, after which she received a six-month medical exemption from the Badminton Association of India; this has enabled her to be cleared to play since July 2017. Dhanda is also in the midst of preparations for the next big international tournament – the Hong Kong Open Super Series – in August 2017.
The Olympic dream was dashed for the young wrestler after a career-threatening injury.
Pooja Dhanda, India’s first woman wrestler to win a medal in the Commonwealth Games, made headlines in 2010 when she decided to undergo surgery to correct long-term injuries. After years of sustained and strenuous training, her right knee was irreversibly injured and she needed corrective surgery. Following this surgery, Pooja could not bend her knee for about eight months, which meant that she had to take a break from wrestling.
Pooja Dhanda returned to the mat and wants to prove herself.
“Being an actor was a fun experience in Dangal (casting trials). But I prefer writing my own story,” she said.
She redefined herself as a wrestler in 2018. After reclaiming the national championship in 2017, she led her team to victory in the Pro Wrestling League after defeating Olympic champion Helen Maroulis and helping Punjab Royals claim their maiden title.
A rare moment of what we call ‘pure joy’ was captured by the camera in the women’s 57kg freestyle category as Pooja Dhanda beat Marwa Amri, who had already claimed Rio 2016 bronze, World Championships silver, and 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze. The result, a second-place finish for the Indian, was nothing short of brilliant.
Geeta Phogat has been selected for the 57 kg weight category for the World Wrestling Championship. She will be competing alongside Rong Ningning, Bilyana Dudova, and Emese Barka representing India.
Pooja Dhanda’s successes on the mat were recognized when she was awarded the Arjuna Award.
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