“Receive Me At The Airport When I Return With A World Championships Medal”: Neelam Sirohi’s Promise To Her Father

From a village near Mathura to the final of the Senior World Wrestling Championships, Neelam Sirohi's historic silver medal is a story of perseverance, family sacrifice and a dream that is now reaching towards the Olympics.

Neelam Sirohi may have fallen short of the gold medal, but her achievement at the Senior World Wrestling Championships has already secured her a place in Indian wrestling history.

The 26-year-old finished with silver in the women's 50kg category after losing to Japanese superstar Yui Susaki in the final, becoming only the third Indian woman wrestler to win a silver medal at the senior World Championships, after Anshu Malik and Kajal Dhochak.

Susaki, a formidable force in international wrestling, secured her fifth senior World Championships title with a 5-0 victory by fall. The Japanese wrestler, who had previously won four world titles across the 48kg and 50kg divisions, maintained her dominance throughout the competition and pinned Neelam before the end of the first period.

Yet, the result of the final tells only a small part of Neelam's story. Behind the silver medal lies a journey shaped by determination, difficult choices and a father's unwavering belief in his daughter's ambitions.

For Kunwar Pal Singh Sirohi, Neelam's father, the achievement is both a moment of immense pride and the beginning of a bigger pursuit.

Speaking exclusively to myKhel, he said, "It is a huge achievement, and this is the first step in my daughter's journey. Our target was to win a medal at the World Championships, and now the goal is to win a medal at the Olympics. When she won her Asian U-23 medal, she told me not to come to the airport to receive her. She said, 'Come to receive me when I return with a medal from the World Championships. She has become the pride of all Mathura."

Those words capture the significance of Neelam's achievement for a family that has invested years in helping her pursue a sport that was not easily accessible to girls in her early years.

Neelam's wrestling journey began long before the world championships podium became a realistic ambition. As a young girl, she was drawn towards the sport by watching her maternal uncle practise traditional mud wrestling. Her interest soon developed into a desire to compete herself.

Recalling those early days, Kunwar Pal Singh Sirohi explained how his daughter's passion gradually became a clear ambition.

"When Neelam was very young, her maternal uncle used to practise traditional mud wrestling. She would often tell him, "Mama, I want to wrestle too."

"She gradually started participating in small local wrestling competitions, known as dangals. Later, she told me, "Papa, I want to pursue wrestling and nothing else."

Her early training received support from her maternal uncle, Janardhan Pehelwan, a former wrestler and National Champion. He began training Neelam and her brothers at home after moving to Mathura following his marriage. That initial exposure gave her the foundation to pursue wrestling beyond local competitions.

However, turning a childhood passion into a serious sporting career required the family to make difficult decisions.

Kunwar's own father had wrestled in the Indian Army, but Kunwar himself chose a different professional path and entered the telecommunications business. Nevertheless, when his daughter expressed a desire to pursue wrestling, he took responsibility for finding a suitable training environment.

The family eventually moved to Delhi, where the search for the right academy presented its own challenges.

"Later, I moved to Delhi after getting a job. In 2012, I brought Neelam to Delhi as well. I took her to Chhatrasal Stadium, hoping she could train there, but we found out that only boys and men were being trained there at the time."

The setback could have discouraged a young wrestler and her family. Instead, Kunwar continued looking for an alternative that would allow Neelam to train.

His search eventually led him to Pochanpur in Dwarka, where women could access wrestling training. The discovery opened a new chapter in Neelam's sporting journey, but it also required her to take responsibility for travelling to practice.

"On another occasion, while we were travelling on the Metro, we spoke to a few girls and learned that wrestling training was also available in Pochanpur, Dwarka. I then bought Neelam a bicycle so that she could travel to and from the training centre on her own. Neelam trained there for five months."

The bicycle was a modest investment compared with the demands of elite sport, but it represented something much bigger: a family finding a way forward when the available opportunities were limited.

Neelam's rise was not built on overnight success. She progressed through state and national competitions, earned opportunities to represent India and competed at the Under-17 World Championships in Athens in 2017. She also became the first wrestler from her district to participate in a World Championships in nearly five decades.

Neelam's journey to the top has been far from straightforward. Before her breakthrough in Astana, she had competed at two senior World Championships but had been unable to progress deep into the competition. She had also yet to win a medal at the Asian Championships or represent India at the Asian Games.

Her path differed from that of many established Indian women wrestlers, most of whom emerged from Haryana, the country's traditional wrestling powerhouse. Neelam, by contrast, came from Phenchari, a village near Mathura in western Uttar Pradesh, where the local wrestling tradition had weakened over the years.

That background makes her latest achievement particularly significant. Her silver medal is not simply a personal milestone; it is also a reminder that international-level wrestling talent can emerge from places beyond the sport's established centres.

At the 2026 World Championships, Neelam demonstrated the composure and competitiveness required to challenge the world's best. She began by defeating former Youth Olympic champion Natallia Varakina of Belarus.

She subsequently advanced to the semifinals after Russia's Elizaveta Smirnova withdrew from their quarterfinal bout because of injury.

In the semifinal, Neelam produced one of the most important performances of her career, beating Asian Games bronze medallist Zeynep Bayanova 7-3. The victory guaranteed her a place in the final and made her only the third Indian woman wrestler to reach a senior World Championships final and win silver.

Standing across the mat in the gold-medal bout was Susaki, one of the most accomplished wrestlers of her generation. Neelam could not overcome the Japanese star, but reaching the final itself marked a major breakthrough for an athlete whose previous senior world appearances had ended much earlier.

Her recent results also underline the progress she has made. In addition to her World Championships silver, Neelam won silver at the Zagreb Open in 2026 and claimed gold at the Under-23 Asian Championships in 2023.

For Neelam, the world medal carried a significance that went beyond the colour of the medal. It fulfilled an ambition she had pursued for years, through early training sessions, domestic competitions and setbacks on the international stage.

Kunwar spoke to his daughter after the final and learned about both the emotional importance of the achievement and the physical demands of the bout.

"I just spoke to Neelam, and she told me that winning a medal at the World Championships had always been her dream. She also suffered a minor injury while wrestling against Susaki."

The final may have ended in defeat, but Neelam's campaign had already established her among India's leading women wrestlers. Competing against a multiple-time world champion is a formidable challenge, and the experience could prove valuable as she prepares for future international competitions.

For her father, the immediate priority is to recognise what she has achieved while continuing to support her ambitions. His words make it clear that the family sees the world silver medal as a milestone rather than the destination.

Indian wrestling has produced several celebrated champions, but Neelam's achievement offers a different kind of inspiration. Her rise shows what can happen when a young athlete's determination is matched by a family willing to search for opportunities, adapt to setbacks and make sacrifices.

Her father did not have a ready-made route into women's wrestling. He had to find an academy, overcome the limitations of the available training environment and help his daughter access regular practice. The journey began with local dangals and home training before expanding to national and international competitions.

Now, after becoming a World Championships silver medallist, Neelam has given Mathura a reason to celebrate on the global sporting stage.

There is also a larger message in her success. Talent does not belong exclusively to established sporting regions, and a lack of infrastructure or tradition should not determine how far an athlete can go. Neelam's journey demonstrates why access, family support and sustained training can make a difference.

Her silver medal is a historic achievement in its own right. But the words of Kunwar Pal Singh Sirohi point towards the next challenge: winning an Olympic medal.

For a father who once searched for a place where his daughter could train, that ambition reflects just how far the journey has taken them. For Neelam, the world podium is no longer a distant dream. It is a foundation on which she can build her next chapter.

The gold medal eluded her in Astana, but she returns with a historic silver, a place among India's finest women wrestlers and an even bigger target ahead. Mathura has its new sporting hero, and the Olympic dream is now firmly in sight.