When she first took up the sport, a teenage Pooja Gehlot faced the dilemma most women wrestlers training at akhadas face whether to grapple with boys. Mixed training sessions are commonplace yet for someone entering an akhada the first time it can be a culture shock. This particular nursery in Bankner, North-West Delhi, was run by Anand Prakash Dahiya but the only trainees were boys. Pooja took the plunge.

The decision, not to be put off by the training tradition and take up the sport, has paid off. On Friday, she won a silver at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest. Pooja, 22, lost to Japan’s Haruno Okuno 1-12 in the final. Though the difference in points is unflattering for Pooja, what must be accounted for was that she was up against a formidable wrestler.

Gehlot’s father Vijender Singh and family were at their rented accommodation in Rohtak when the news trickled in about the result of the final. Vijender talks about how their neighbours back home in their village, Farmana in Sonepat, would advice him to stop Pooja from training at an all boy’s akhada.

“We knew coach Anand but the only problem we faced was that there were no girls at his akhada. But he agreed to train Pooja. At times, our neighbors in the village would say it is not right to let a girl train with boys.

Pooja had initially gravitated towards volleyball but her lack of height meant she would eventually have to look at other options. Her uncle Dharamvir Singh was a wrestler and encouraged her to give it a shot. Dharamvir entrusted her to Dahiya who transformed the raw talent into a finished product. “We worked upon her strength and stance and it helped her game. It also helped her try the moves like Kalajang and Dhobi pat,” coach Dahiya recalls.