Wrestler Bhavika Patel narrates her journey, struggles, why she can't afford to buy new shoes

Bhavika Patel has won two silver medals at the National Championships and recently competed at the U23 World Championships.

Promising young Indian wrestler, Bhavika Patel, who hails from Ahmedabad, is the first female wrestler from Gujarat to represent India in the World U23 Wrestling Championships. She came from a state that has no sports culture making her story very inspirational. Wrestling has a strong base in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. But for a wrestler to come out of Gujarat is a big thing for the development of Indian sports.

Bhavika narrowly lost to Jones of the USA in the bronze medal bout in the recently concluded U23 World Championships. Khel now had a chance to interview her where she shared about her ongoing financial struggles and more. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Bhavika’s Journey so far

Bhavika Patel: I started wrestling in 2016. My father was a wrestler so he would do some coaching at a centre nearby. I used to go with him as a little kid, mostly to watch. Seeing my dad coaching and watching the senior girls practice and getting kits to play in national competitions that’s how I started wrestling, thinking, ‘I want a kit too, and I want to play!’

Gradually, I got more involved, starting with district and state-level competitions here in Gujarat. Initially, I didn’t qualify for the state level competitions due to weight issues, which was disappointing for me as I had to come back without playing. However, from then on, I won gold in every Khel Mahakumbh event, and in 2016, I played my first national-level school games and won a silver medal.

Struggles during Covid

Bhavika Patel: Things were going well until the lockdown. During Covid, I felt like all the hard work of the past three to four years was wasted. It felt like wrestling was slipping away from me, and I was really upset. I talked to my coach, Ramesh Sir, because I couldn’t sit idle anymore. For a year, I just waited without any training. Then we found a centre in Haryana where I could train.

“I had trained their earlier for about 10-15 days, so I asked my coach to send me to Haryana if it was the right thing to do. ‘If you think it’s right for me, then please send me there,’ I told sir. Initially, I found it tough, given I hadn’t practised for so long. There were times when I felt like giving up, but my coach encouraged me to give it another month.

Gradually, I settled in and got back into practice and then eventually returning to Gujarat when our centre opened up.

I then played in the junior nationals, where I won bronze. Next came my first senior nationals, where I managed to reach the finals and win a silver. This was a big deal as no one from Gujarat had won a medal at that level before, so my coach and everyone were thrilled.

The 19-year-old Bhavika Patel is hoping to capitalise on home support to bag a medal in upcoming 36th #NationalGames.Bhavika breezed into the hearts of Gujarat's sports fans by clinching a silver medal in the Senior National Wrestling Championship at Gonda, UP, last November pic.twitter.com/YnEiT1OvnY

— Gujarat Information (@InfoGujarat) September 17, 2022

Injury concerns and comeback after Injury

Bhavika Patel: Post my win at the junior nationals, I was called to the senior India camp, where I trained alongside athletes like Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. Unfortunately, I suffered a knee injury that kept me from competing in the trials for the World Championships. The injury was severe, with doctors suggesting surgery and a year of recovery.

I couldn’t afford to miss out for a whole year, so I came back to Gujarat, where our academy’s head arranged a consultation with a good doctor, Dr. Rohan Vakta, who confirmed a Grade 3 meniscus tear. I immediately had surgery, and within a month, I was back in the National Games held in Gujarat.

I got a bye in my first round against Pooja Gehlot who didn’t play due to an injury. I won my second bout against a JSW wrestler but lost to a Haryana Wrestler in my third bout. My fourth bout was against a Maharashtra wrestler, and I lost to her in the last second.

Sometime later I suffered an injury again in the same knee and had to undergo another surgery. It took me two to three months to recover, carefully doing rehab. I was not doing well after the surgery and lost a second senior level completion.

My first big competition post the second surgery was the senior nationals, where I won silver again, narrowly losing in the finals. In 2023, I participated in another national competition, where also I won silver. Later, I took part in the trials for the U23 World Championships held in Narela, Delhi. I beat an opponent I had lost to previously and qualified for the Worlds.

U23 World Championships Stint

Bhavika Patel: At the U23 World Championships, I narrowly lost the bronze medal bout. Missing out on a medal was disappointing, especially with other team members winning theirs. I didn’t fight freely in this competition as I was scared of not winning a medal, but I’ve learned from this experience about the level of preparation and practice I need to compete at the international level. Now, I’m focused on upcoming Asian and World tournaments.

Bhavika’s story went viral when she was playing with the torn shoes which she had fixed with tape as she couldn’t afford to buy new shoes. She said “I can’t afford a new pair right now, so I am thinking of using the same pair for 3-4 months more. For now, I’m managing by fixing them with tape. I will keep using them until I have enough prize money or funds to buy a new pair.”

Also Read: Who is Bhavika Patel? All you need to know about U23 Indian wrestler

Q) Who is your role model in wrestling?

Bhavika Patel: As for my role model in wrestling, it’s an American wrestler Jordan Burroughs. I’m trying to adopt his wrestling style, as it suits my physique and benefits me in competitions.

Q) When you come back from the intense training, how do you spend your time?

Bhavika Patel: When I’m not wrestling, I prefer to spend time alone or with family to recharge myself. If I sit with everyone, they will ask me so many questions like how did you lose and how did your match go? I try to stay away from this as it helps me to clear my mind and plan my strategy and schedule for the next tournaments.

Q) How do you manage your weight and nutrition as it is the most crucial aspect of wrestling?

Bhavika Patel: Regarding managing weight, it’s crucial for us wrestlers. I fight in the 55kg category so in the off-season my weight increases to 59-60kgs. I usually consult my coach and a nutritionist to stay within my target weight without feeling weak. Let’s say, I train with 60kg weight wrestler and during the competition, I lose 5kgs so I will become weak so is better to train with 56 and 57kg wrestlers so I can easily fight in the competition.

The more I maintain my weight, the more strength and speed I will get. In the competitions, where we cut our weight in 2 3 days, we can recover fast from that. I am cutting my weight for one month, so I am eating very little. All these things if I consult with the nutritionist then it’s fine but if I do it on my own, not eating food and doing hard training then it will be a problem for me. So Proper diet and consultation are essential to avoid weakness so that I can give my best performance.

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