These Yodhas fight fair!
Taking wrestling to various parts of India is this league that has the Bengaluru Yodha women creating their own waves
By : soumashree sarkar
Update: 2015-12-13 23:50 GMT
Dripping sweat, a slew of bruises and punches to the gut have not kept them down and it’s unlikely that anything will. If any one was ever possessed by the fighting spirit, then it’s them. Here to represent the city from Hisar, Amritsar, Wisconsin and Minsk, the women of the Bengaluru Yodhas are not a bunch to back down. Riding high on the wave of their resounding maiden win against the UP Warriors, the four female grapplers of the nine-member Bengaluru team (which also includes five male grapplers) at the ongoing six-city Pro-Wrestling League talk to us about their achievements in life and their experiences in our sunny city.
Overcoming a four point lag to sweep a win against the UP Warriors’ Kogut Oleksandra, American Alyssa Lampe proved once again why she is called the ‘comeback queen.’ No stranger to intense competition, Alyssa counts making it to the 2015 US national team for the World Championships one of her crowning achievements of the past year. “I won the bronze medal in the 48 kg at the World Championships in Budapest and that for me is my most treasured memory of my career. I have been enjoying my time in India, looking at the sights, taking in the culture and also enjoying a bit of the food. I really love curry back in the US and I am getting to taste the actual authentic stuff here, which is absolutely amazing.”
Bronze-winner at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Navjot Kaur has rather fond memories of Bengaluru. She says, “I was born in a small village near Amritsar and I had not really travelled much to the south of India. I was in Bengaluru when the team was launched and really enjoyed going around MG Road, Brigade Road, Cubbon Park and a few other nice places. Bengaluru Yodhas has managed to assemble a really good team and we’re eager to do well!”
Lalita Sehrawat is another Glasgow winner in the Bengaluru team. The Haryana girl is one of the most recognisable faces of the Yodhas and says, “Glasgow and the Commonwealth Games was a wonderful experience. Winning a medal in my first international competition was also a brilliant feeling. The League is a little different but something that is also very enjoyable. Everyone in Bengaluru is very friendly and I did not feel out of place for a second!”
The very first match saw Yuliya Ratkevich defeating the reigning National Games winner, Ritu Malik. Born in Belarus, Yuliya represents Azerbaijan internationally and has quite the collection of championship medals. She says, “I have never been to India but have competed against quite a few Indian wrestlers. It is very cold currently in Belarus and this weather here is just perfect! My team has a lot of expectations from me and I want to prove them right. Winning the League is my goal with the Bengaluru Yodhas.”
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