Asian Games | I was born for combat sports, reveals CWG silver medalist Pooja Dhanda
After impressing in the sport of judo in the past and her recent triumph at this year’s 2018 Gold Coast CWG, 24-year old Pooja Dhanda has said that she was born to compete in combat sports. Pooja added that she is aiming for nothing less than a gold medal at the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta.
Pooja Dhanda gained fame after her exploits in the sport of Judo and then made weaves after her silver medal win at the 2010 Youth Summer Olympics in Singapore. Her recent win over the reigning World and Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) was a sign of things to come from the young wrestler, who unsurprisingly hails from Haryana.
At a recent press meet where Tata joined hands the WFI in what is a landmark sponsorship deal for Indian wrestling in recent years, Pooja talked about her future expectations and the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta as well.
When SportsCafe asked that if her success on the International level in judo, as well as wrestling, would mean that she was born for combat sports she instantly replied, "Yes, absolutely. On the basis of my performances in both sports, it would be right to say so. Whenever I have performed it is not only about winning or losing but also about giving my best and the fact that the results have been in my
"Whenever any wrestler or any other athlete performs, it is always without the intention of winning or losing but with an aim to give their 100%. Winning and losing will always remain a part of the game, but we, as athletes, try and give our best at what we do," Pooja told SportsCafe.
Pooja, who beat Babita Phogat in the final on her debut in the national championship in 2013, has since won all four senior national championships till date, has also enjoyed success in judo before she made the complete switch to wrestling.
When quizzed on what life would be like if she had not made the transition from judo to wrestling, the Haryana-born wrestler said, "When I was involved with the sport of judo, the results were quite good. I have played in three international judo competitions in which I won two golds and one bronze and whenever I played the nationals, I always won gold.
"But my interest has always been in wrestling ever since I was in school. However, since the minimum age to take up wrestling in the country was 16 whereas the age restriction in judo was 12, that was the reason I took up the sport in the first place.
"I gave it a try, got selected, and almost instantly reached the international stage. In the 2-3 years that I couldn't take up wrestling, I achieved some good results in Judo. But then again I never saw my future in judo and wrestling was always my first preference," she added.
Pooja’s most recent triumph on the global stage came in this year’s 2018 Gold Coast CWG where she won a silver medal in the 57 kg category after she lost to Nigeria's Odunayo Adekuoroye 7-5 in the final at the Carrara Sports Arena. But the young star revealed that she will aimed for nothing less than gold in the upcoming Asian Games this month.
"Whenever we wrestlers participate in any competition, we always aim for gold and nothing less. It's the only thing in our minds. The Asian Games is a huge platform and there also we will try to get gold medals for our country and make the nation proud. In addition to that, countries like Japan, China, Mongolia
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