Driven by dreams of winning medals for their country, two dozen girls and young women train to become wrestlers in a cluster of white one-story buildings set on a dusty track winding through farmland on the edge of a north Indian village.
Run by a husband and wife convinced that sport can fuel aspirations and build confidence, the Altius wrestling school in the village of Sisai in Haryana state, about three hours’ drive from the Indian capital, aims to change perceptions.
“There is no value of a woman in a village,” Usha Sharma, India’s first female wrestling coach, told Reuters.
“In a village, an animal has more value to it than a woman, as an animal gives milk and there is a cost attached to it.”Whether or not they become champions, the girls from humble families receive rare lessons in female empowerment during their training at the residential centre Sharma set up in 2009, along with her husband, Sanjay Sihag, a sports teacher.
Persons:
” Usha Sharma, India’s, Sharma, Sanjay Sihag
Organizations:
Reuters, “
Locations:
Sisai, Haryana