Sushil Kumar is my idol: Babita Phogat

Bengaluru, Feb 25: Wrestler Babita Phogat today, February 25, said that she draws inspiration from her father Mahavir Singh Phogat and two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar.

"First and foremost my idol has been my father. He is the real star and real hero. And after him, Sushil Kumar is my idol. He inspired me after winning a medal in 2008 (at Beijing Olympics)," Babita said after inaugurating a two-day yoga and self-defense workshop for women, organised by Akshar Yoga and Chikkaballapur MLA Dr. K Sudhakar.

Babita's elder sister Geeta Phogat was also present to unveil the workshop. Babita said Aamir Khan starrer blockbuster movie 'Dangal' brought in the public domain the unknown facts about former wrestler Mahavir Singh's struggles and sacrifices to make his daughters world-class grapplers.

"What good Dangal has done is that it has brought my father's struggles and sacrifices into public domain. My father had to fight against the society and relatives to make us world class wrestlers," Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.

"Weakest point of my father is that he is very emotional. He appears to be strict as a coach, but as a father, he is damn emotional. This is his weak and strong point," she added.

Talking about the film, Babita said she thoroughly enjoyed the movie as it brought back childhood memories.

"Each character enacted in the film was very real. We never ever realised, we were watching a film, but experiencing our bygone days," she said.

Asked about marriage, Babita said her aim in her life is to win an Olympic medal for the country. "I will get married when my parents want me to, but before I could do this, I want to win an Olympic medal for the country," she said.

Replying to a query, Babita said eating non-veg is a necessity rather than a choice. "Eating non-veg is not our habit.

"We eat it because at times when there are no other alternatives, especially when we are traveling abroad.

"We hardly get vegetarian food there. However, my father ate chicken and non-veg as he was a wrestler," she said.

PTI