Dreaming big
A young female wrestler from a very small village is winning golds and hearts with her performance.
Features
Geetika holding her gold medal from World Youth Championship. Image credits: Mohd Haroon Siddiqi/NSoJ
Mohd Haroon Siddiqi
Geetika Narwal’s career as a boxer began from her childhood days. She recalls as a young child she used to fight a lot and win those fights. Her sister’s coach noticed her and asked her to take up boxing as her sport. Geetika hails from a small village called Rithal Narwal in Rohtak, Haryana.
She won a gold medal in Women’s Boxing, 48 kg weight category in the World Youth Championship which recently took place in Poland in March 2021. Geetika has won various medals in her sporting journey since 2017. She has won gold medals in the national championships at Raebareli and Allahabad and a silver medal in Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati.
Geetika is well known for her aggressive moves in the game. Due to the pandemic, she is not able to practice in a boxing academy or a sports centre, instead, she has to practice at her home with her elder sister. Fortunately, her sister is also a boxer. Now Geetika is preparing for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham in August 2022 and is very confident of winning a gold medal.
When asked about her diet, Geetika says she prefers only homemade food, fresh juices, curd, etc. After returning from Poland, she didn’t even take a break but started practising from the very next day. She practices daily in the morning and evening for two hours. Her coach Mr. Surajprakash gives her all the guidance she needs
Geetika’s father is a farmer and is also at the forefront of the farmers' protest currently on even though at a scaled-down version. Her mother is a homemaker and Geetika is blessed to have such unstinted support from her family to pursue her dreams that too in a state which is notorious for its very skewed sex ratio.
