Patiala,
The last few years have been very painful for Navjot Kaur. A back injury she suffered in 2014 disrupted her career soon after she won a bronze medal at that year’s Commonwealth Games. She was then 24; the next three years were spent trying to get back into the sport. Then, last December, there was heartbreak — she lost in the trials to select the Indian team for this year’s Commonwealth Games.

She turned 28 last month and, it seemed, her future in the sport was not too bright.

Fortunes change
Yesterday, she lost her opening bout in the 65kg freestyle category at the Asian Championship to Japan’s Myu Imai after a very close bout. But she got lucky — the event was fought on a round-robin basis, which meant that she still had a chance. She then won her second bout to enter the semifinals, in which she beat Mongolia’s Enkhbayar Tsevegmedi to enter the final. Her opponent in the final? The same Myu Imai. “God gave me a second chance and I had to take it,” she says. Navjot achieved throws worth four points twice in the bout — the first time in the first period, the second time with just 30-odd seconds left in the second period. The second four-pointer was scored when the Japanese wrestler managed to grab Navjot’s right leg, but the Indian threw her on her back.

“I have been preparing for this and waiting for this for very long,” Navjot later said.

“At the national camp, I was supported and motivated by the whole team, including the coaches and the medical staff. I was a bit nervous, being on this platform and you have a lot of load on your shoulders. But I was confident. I was being boosted, ‘No, you can do it, you can beat Japan, it’s not something that you can’t achieve.’” She said winning gold on Holi was a great blessing. “I believe I got a blessing from the whole of India, and I dedicate the medal to the whole country. That is how I will celebrate, a gift of Holi to the country,” she said.

Dedicated wrestler
Former national coach PR Sondhi, who has trained Navjot Kaur at the national camps at NIS, Patiala, said it was a big day for the wrestling community, and Punjab in particular. “Navjot has always been a very serious grappler and would not indulge in any unnecessary politics,” he said. “She would just mind her own business and train hard. Her dedication and zeal have finally been rewarded.”

“With this medal, Navjot has once again proved her worth and I hope the Punjab government will take note of her achievements and offer her a good job. It is unfortunate that she had to join Railways instead of serving Punjab,” he added.