Of the seven girls in this Jat dominated Baghpat district, two have represented the country at international wrestling events and won laurels and the others have represented their district and state at other tournaments.
The father of the girls Kiranpal Singh, a farmer, candidly attributes the birth of seven girls in the family to the desire for a boy.
No regrets
“My first child was a girl and thereafter I wanted a boy. In the desire to have a boy child, six more girls were born ... it’s all destiny and will of the God,” Kiranpal said. But the girls did not disappoint him and perhaps have given him much more than a boy would have.
“I have become famous in the area only because of my daughters,” he said.
Kiranpal’s first daughter Mamta was a district level wrestler and the second Guddi represented India at wrestling events in Korea and Taiwan in the Asian Games and won bronze medals.
While the third daughter Ruby is a state level wrestler, the fourth daughter Ruby has been doing well at the international levels.
The other three girls are also learning the art of wrestling from their coach and nurture hopes to do well for the country, he added.
Caring father
Kiranpal owns only five bighas of land yet he does everything to ensure that his wrestler daughters get rich food, which is an essential requirement for them. In a region where girls are given very little freedom and looked down upon with hatred, these girls could very well put their male counterparts on the mat literally.
DH News Service