Once unwanted, Antim Panghal is family’s pride and the country’s darling in Paris

Gaurav Kanthwal

Hisar, July 23

Already parents to three daughters, when Bhagana agriculturist and kabaddi enthusiast Ram Niwas Panghal and wife Krishna Kumari were blessed with another girl child in 2004, the family named her Antim — with an ardent prayer that she would be their last girl child, and a baby boy would arrive next.

Two years later, the baby boy did arrive at last and the family now thought Antim had turned out to be lucky — sort of — for it, as it was now “complete”, with four daughters and a son. That was the Haryana of early 2000s, when a girl child in a family was unwanted, and if a family had one too many, they would name her Antim (last one), Bhateri (more than enough), and so on, with a prayer for a baby boy.

First Olympics

My coaches, support staff and the family have devoted all their time in my preparations. I am feeling confident about my preparations and excited about my first Olympics. Let us see how it turns out. Antim Panghal

Nineteen years later, as Antim sweats it out in the hot and humid multipurpose hall at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar, the entire family plus the four-member support staff is at her service round the clock. The teenager from Bhagana village in Hisar will be presenting India’s challenge in the 53kg category in women’s wrestling in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“My coaches, support staff and the family have devoted all their time in my preparations. I am feeling confident about my preparations and excited about my first Olympics. Let us see how it turns out,” said Antim.

While her parents and brother Arpit are completing the ‘paperwork’ in Delhi, the three elder sisters have their task cut out, too. Eldest sister Sarita, now a kabaddi coach and the inspiration behind Antim taking up wrestling at the Mahavir Stadium in Hisar, motivates her with pep talk and hourly rebukes. Second sister Nisha takes care of the nutrition, cooking food according to the diet chart, and ensuring that it is ready before Antim is back in hostel after training. Meenu’s job is to drive her to and fro from hostel to the training centre. Inside the hall, she watches happily as Antim unspools her trademark Dhobi Pachhaad one after the other. “Sab kuch haath pe mil raha hai… Result to dena padega,” coach Bhagat Singh says with a smile, his words laced more with veiled threat than humour.

From a state with a skewed sex ratio to a state where families are giving their all to the outstanding daughter, Haryana is reaping the rich dividends of respecting the girl child. Father Ramniwas Panghal said, “Once Antim started winning medals in the Nationals, I thought of shifting from my village to Hisar as a lot of time was wasted in commuting.”

A two-time junior world champion (2022, 2023) and an 2023 Asian Games bronze medallist, Antim also won a World Championship bronze in 2023. Shining on the international stage consistently for the last two years, Antim has made herself the prime challenger to the mighty Vinesh Phogat. In the 2022 Commonwealth Games trials, Antim narrowly lost to the reigning queen of Indian wrestling but announced her arrival. Vinesh had to shift to a lower weight category this time because Antim locked her Paris ticket in the 53kg category.

“She is young and fearless, the surprise element will be in her favour. A feisty wrestler, she does not brood over her losses,” Bhagat summed up the wrestler’s campaign.

In Paris, Akari Fujinami will be the hot favourite in the 53kg class — she’s never been beaten in a senior wrestling bout. Antim has lost to Fujinami in the past but luckily is not in the Japanese’s star’s half in the Olympics draw. This means the luck she brought to her parents could bring her a silver from Paris.