Tribal Girl Chanchala Makes History In Wrestling For Jharkhand

Tribal girl Chanchala has created history by becoming the first woman wrestler from Jharkhand to have qualified for the world wrestling championship on Monday. She is a 14-year-old from Hotwar village in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Chanchala Kumar won gold in the trials held in Delhi on Monday and secured her place in the sub-junior category of the world wrestling championship. Kumar is participating in the 40 kg category. The championship will be held in Budapest, Hungary and is scheduled between July 19 and 25.

Kumar hails from the first batch of Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society (JSSPS). JSSPS is a collaboration between Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and the state sports department that runs different academics for the young talent of the state in the mega sports complex in Hotwar.

Bholanath Singh who is the president at the Jharkhand State Wrestling Association said that Kumar's selection is a momentous occasion for the entire wrestling fraternity of the state. Singh further added, "She was picked up by Sports Authority of India (SAI)-Lucknow where she was training for about a year now."

The tribal girl Chanchala Kumar has won silver in SGFI games in 2017 and also two successive golds at the same events which were held over the next two years. Kumar was ecstatic about her achievements and said that she hopes to do better for the country at the world wrestling championship.

She further added that the past year was a challenging period as her training was restricted to the online mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also said that she missed out on the physical action in wrestling due to the restrictions. Though Kumar kept on practising on her own even when she was at home for a long period during the lockdown.

Kumar also talked about being fortunate enough to have supportive parents who never discouraged her even during tough times when her father's earnings were strained due to the pandemic and the family was going through a financial crunch.