'Olympics medal nahi, Olympics gold': Manisha Bhanwala's promise to her late father

NewsSports NewsMore sports NewsEXCLUSIVE | 'Olympics medal nahi, Olympics gold': Manisha Bhanwala's promise to her late father EXCLUSIVE | 'Olympics medal nahi, Olympics gold': Manisha Bhanwala's promise to her late father Amit Kumar / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Nov 01, 2026, 13:27 IST NEW DELHI: “Bhai saab, Jind Pandavon ki nagari hai, kuch to baat to hogi [Jind is the land of the Pandavas.

There must be something special about it]”Manisha Bhanwala said these words with a smile a day after creating history at the World Wrestling Championships on Friday. The wrestler from Jind, Haryana, had just become the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the World Championships.Perhaps there is something special about this town - Jind.

Manisha is not the only athlete from Jind to make the country proud this year. Watch Kynan Chenai: The 38-Year-Old Gun Barrel, Asian Games Gold and the LA 2028 Dream | TOISA Spotlight Exactly a month earlier, another daughter of the town, Neeru Dhanda, won gold in trap shooting at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

She became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold medal in trap shooting.Jind has a deep connection with the stories of the Mahabharata. According to local belief, the Pandavas built a temple dedicated to Goddess Jainti Devi before going to war against the Kauravas.

They prayed to the goddess and sought her blessings for victory. The town was originally known as Jaintapuri, meaning the abode of Goddess Jainti Devi. Over time, the name became Jind.And now, Manisha has added another proud chapter to the story of this town.

But for the 59kg wrestler, the biggest moment of her life was also a deeply personal one.When she won the gold medal, she did not celebrate alone. She kept the medal and a photograph of her late father beside her pillow.

She made a video call to her mother and brother before going to sleep. Before kissing her father's photograph, she had one more moment with the man whose memories and teachings continue to guide her.Her father may not have been there to witness her historic achievement, but Manisha made sure he was part of it.The wrestler has often spoken about the lessons she learnt from the Bhagavad Gita through her father.

She believes in the principle of karma - doing one's duty and leaving the result to God. She follows it in her life and carries the same belief onto the wrestling mat. Manisha Bhanwala with her father and mother (Image credit: WFI) What did he do?My father was a farmer.

He used to work in the fields and operate the plough. He knew nothing about sports or anything like that. He was a farmer who never treated me differently because I was a girl. He never put any pressure on me about what I was doing or what I was eating.Even today, I feel that kind of support is rare.

Despite never going to school and not being able to read or write, he was an open-minded person. He was a lovely soul. He was very particular about his work. From childhood, he taught me what karma means. He taught me the right things at that time.Our family was not financially well-off.

We were very poor. We did not even have land of our own. He followed the Gita and always asked me to follow it too.How did he arrange the money? Did you ever ask him?Absolutely not. He never let me feel that I was missing anything.

Let me tell you something. Even today, I don't know how my father managed everything. He worked day and night.When I started wrestling in 2015, I needed wrestling shoes. I just said once, 'Papa, wrestling ke shoes chahiye.' He kept his hand on my head with a smile and said, 'Haan, ho jayega, dikkat koi nahi hai.' He gave me shoes worth Rs 7,000 within a couple of days.

Those were very expensive at that time.But from the very first day, he always made sure I got good things. He never let me feel that I was missing anything. I never asked him how he got those things, and he never told me.When I went to school, my teachers would ask me what my father did.

When I told them that he was a farmer, they would sometimes find it difficult to believe that my father was a farmer.What happened to him?In 2022, when I was selected for my first championship, my father was very excited.

I had beaten Sakshi Malik three times. I was doing really well. I had also defeated Sangeeta Phogat.My father started getting excited when he saw his dream beginning to come true. He was completely fine that night when I got selected for the Asian Championship.

In the afternoon, he was told to go and sleep. He didn't wake up after that. He died of a heart attack. It had been eight years since then, and that very night, I had a flight for the championship.How did you support yourself that difficult night?I don't know.

I was numb. I lost the person whom I loved more than anything in this world. And that person was no longer with me. That night... I don't know how to explain it. It was tough to ask myself whether I should hold on to the feeling that my father was still with me.I had a flight to the Asian Championships that same night.

I just sat in a corner. After the cremation, my mother said, 'Apne papa ka dream tu poora nahi karegi toh kaun karega?' She said, 'Kya karegi aise baith ke, chal jaa, competition ladd.'I reached Mongolia from India.

I did not even realise how I had travelled or how I had reached there. I don&#x27;t remember that day properly. I don&#x27;t remember where I was going, what day it was or what was happening around me. When I returned to my room after winning bronze, I broke down.<div data-pos="0" class="id-r-component iIpbx undefined Who all are there in your family now?My mother, my brother, my sister-in-law and my nephew.Your brother was a kabaddi player.

Why did you opt for wrestling?My brother used to beat me up a lot when we were children. He used to fight with me. I was small, so I used to get beaten up and cry. My father sahab used to beat...