A student lifts dumbbells during a morning fitness routine at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, India.
This wrestling school is empowering girls and changing perceptions
Photographs by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters
Story by Vanessa Leroy, CNN
Published February 3, 2024
A student lifts dumbbells during a morning fitness routine at the Altius wrestling school in Sisai, India.
Hours away from the bustle of New Delhi, Reuters photojournalist Anushree Fadnavis shadowed young girls training at a wrestling school in the rural farmlands of Sisai, a village in the Indian state of Haryana.
They are looking to follow in the footsteps of wrestlers such as Sakshi Malik, who made history in 2016 when she became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics.
Wrestling has long been popular among men in India, but in recent years there has been a surge of interest among female athletes. The Altius school is nurturing this next generation.
“I wanted to capture their hopes, dreams, ambitions and their drive to succeed,” Fadnavis said.
The school was co-founded in 2009 by Usha Sharma, India’s first woman wrestling coach, alongside her husband, Sanjay Sihag. Sharma’s inspiration to empower the youth through the sport stems from her and other women’s experiences of lacking agency and respect in a patriarchal society.
“There is no value of a woman in a village,” Sharma told Fadnavis. “In a village, an animal has more value to it than a woman, as an animal gives milk and there is a cost attached to it.”
Fadnavis visited the school where two dozen female students, aged 8 to 22, train, study and support one another in its humble facilities. She stayed for two days, learning about the students and witnessing their work ethic.
“What surprised me was the grit and determination of the girls to train themselves for a sport that requires a lot of physical strength,” she said. “Also, the willingness of parents from villages to send their girls to a faraway residential school pointed towards changing times and changing mindsets of society towards a sport and more importantly, women.”
With the exception of Sundays, the students wake at 4 a.m. each day for their morning fitness routines and practice sessions. When they’re not training, they attend daily academic lessons. Often, they take the lead in preparing meals for themselves throughout the day.
These responsibilities are embraced by all of the students, who are learning how to live independently and feel empowered in their choices.
“Women in the villages in Haryana have very little to no agency in their lives, and hence are very dependent on their families and especially men in their lives,” Fadnavis said.
The confidence and skills gained by the students serve as inspiration to others, as evidenced by Sonu Kaliraman, one of the school’s coaches who trained there as a young girl.
When Kaliraman was a child, she was on her way to work on a farm when she witnessed a group of children from Altius making their way to a wrestling competition. A new world opened up before her eyes. She quickly inquired at the school grounds and got herself enrolled.
Years later, she would travel internationally for the first time ever, to take part in a wrestling competition.
Having women coaches like Kaliraman has a pivotal impact on the young girls at the school, providing them with a comfortable space to be themselves as they work hard to carve out their futures, wherever they may land.
“Most of them told me that having a woman coach really helps them, as they can be themselves and don’t have to overexplain things to anyone,” Fadnavis said.
One of Fadnavis’ favorite moments from her stay was a brief moment between Kaliraman and her mother during a home visit, when her mother brushed her hands across Kaliraman’s face and expressed that she was deeply proud of her.
Reflecting on her own school days, Fadnavis said she loved the adrenaline rush of participating in sports such as long jump and throwball. She sensed that same spirit within the cohort of wrestling students that arrived to their training sessions each day with renewed passion and discipline.
Fadnavis remembered her similar path to following her passion, as she used to work as a software engineer before pivoting to photography after being inspired by a late friend of hers, who she described as a big dreamer.
“It felt great to see the girls have so many different opportunities and someone who could guide them on the right path,” Fadnavis said. “To have someone believe in you and reinforce positive energy really helps us do better at our work or any sport.”
Altius student Swati Berwal recently won a medal at the 37th National Games of India, but not all students will go on to compete for medals or prize money. Still, when they eventually leave the school they will do so with a wider support network, friendships, and lessons learned that they will carry into adulthood.
“When I opened the academy and we started getting medals, it felt nice to know that the same girls who used to graze cows and buffaloes are now being favored by the men in the family,” Sharma told Fadnavis. “It felt good to know and see the girls at jobs and buying their cars, and now they are giving something back to society.”
