Indian female amateur wrestler Geeta Phogat has been appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Haryana cabinet, after a wait of as many as six years. The 27-year-old from Bhiwani, whose life will be portrayed in the Aamir Khan-starrer movie Dangal, whose official trailer is out today, was the first woman wrestler from the country to qualify for the Olympics in London in 2012.
However, two years prior to making it to the London Olympics, Geeta had won gold in the women's 55kg category amateur wrestling event at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, and it was since then that she had to wait to finally hold the coveted post in the Haryana Police.
This week, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met his cabinet colleagues and finally approved Geeta's appointment as a DSP. But the wait for the reward made the star wrestler frustrated over the years. "Humein aadat ho gayi thi wait karne ki. Sab khush hain par jitni khushi honi chahiye thi, utni nahin hai (We got used to waiting. Everyone is happy but we are not as happy as we should have been)," Geeta told the Indian Express.
"While other players were appointed (as DSP) on winning gold in the same event, we were denied this for six long years."
The Haryana government had announced in March 2005 that players with major sports appointments from the state would be rewarded with posts in the Haryana police. The likes of boxers Vikas Krishan and Paramjit Samota were appointed as DSPs without delay, unlike Geeta, who had to keep waiting.
"It was always on my mind that I had been denied the post that I deserved according to the state policy," she continued. "I kept approaching the state government. Earlier this year, I decided to approach the High Court and sought directions to the state government."
Geeta is the daughter of Mahavir Singh Phogat and her sisters include Rio 2016 Olympics participants Vinesh Phogat and Babita Kumari.
