Quotes from Geeta Phogat

We became quite famous in our district. People came especially to watch us. And I used to love it when we heard them saying, 'There go the girls who beat boys.'

Yes, Indian wrestling has improved since foreign coaches came in because the skills and techniques they have is new to us.

I feel that Indian women are too frightened. They all say, 'I can't do this, I can't do that.' Worse, their families don't support them.

There were so many times when I felt like running away from the akhada. But now that we are bearing the fruits of all the hard work, we understand its value.

I believe that if I can qualify for the Olympics, I have the skills to compete at the highest level and do good for my country.

It's about hard work and not gender.

I come from a wrestling background - my father and grandfather were into wrestling.

Now my grandmother, who used to want sons, says that she does not really want boys anymore. She says I'm the lion of the family.

Our akhara was very basic. It was just a little opening next to where the animals were tied. We had to first dig the soil with our bare hands, make it loose, before we could begin our session. I used to hate it. It also used to be either too hot or too cold. There were no mats, no mattresses, nothing.

Till the time my body supports me and till the time I have that desire inside me to succeed, till then I will keep wrestling.

We had to go to bed by 8 P.M. My siblings and I would often play cards under the bed-sheets. But we would get caught and then were made to practise harder. My father would say, 'You need to work even more if you aren't tired enough to go to sleep.'

The coaches boosts our confidence when we lose. They remind us that we have done it once before and we can do it again.

We did not had enough facilities in the village. My family was also not well off. There was no mat, no gym; we used to wrestle in the mud. It was very different from the national camps where I trained before the Commonwealth Games.

Even my grandmother would tell me that girls should not wrestle, it's a man's game.

It was my father's passion actually. I had never wished to become a wrestler. I was 12 when my father initiated me into this sport. Gradually, I started liking it and then it became my passion too.

Wrestlers from Japan and Canada are very tough.

Usually, it is the men who are given importance. But now, people view women wrestlers as equals.

All young wrestlers would love to see their game back in Olympics.

In real life I have conquered my worst fears by fighting and beating bigger wrestlers in dangal. So I am not afraid of anything.

I think staying away from wrestling for two years with injury and the movie, I lost my focus.

I have seen my father defying societal norms and investing his time and energy on us. He was ridiculed and criticised by the community for asking girls to seek a career in wrestling. But he had vision and was least worried when elders warned him his daughters would not find grooms. I had to wrestle for him and that motivated me tremendously.

World Championships is the toughest competition in the world.

We have regularly won medals at all tournaments and I think after 'Dangal,' the craze for wrestling increased among the girls.

After our life history was shown on the silver screen and much appreciated by the audiences, I have more of a responsibility on my shoulders now.