Manisha Bhanwala
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A brief biography
As of 2025 April
Sabi Hussain, April 8, 2025: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: DP’s these days often offer a window into the past and a glimpse of the future. Wrestler Manisha Bhanwala’s whatsapp DP (display picture) bears the image of her father, Suresh. Her father had just returned home to Sivaha in Haryana’s Jind district after dropping off his daughter at Delhi’s international airport around noon on April 17, 2022. He then suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away the same day.
The same evening Manisha was boarding a late flight for Mongolia, where she would participate in her first-ever senior Asian championship. On being informed of the bereavement, the 62kg category wrestler was offered the option of pulling out of the meet by the wrestling federation (WFI). But Manisha, alone in her grief, chose to fly out and compete. It was her father’s dream to see his daughter win a gold medal for India. Manisha did honour his wish, only with a bronze, albeit a hugely brave one.
From 2022 to 2024, Manisha kept accumulating Asian meet bronze medals on the trot, but the gold remained elusive. On Saturday, the 27-year-old finally made her late father’s dreams come true by claiming gold in the women’s 62kg class in Amman in a nail-biting, come-from-behind victory against Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Ok J Kim.
The Indian prevailed 8-7 after trailing 2-7 against Kim at one stage of her bout. In the process, Manisha also ended the country’s four-year drought for a gold at the continental event – Vinesh Phogat and Sarita Mor had claimed the top podium finish in their respective categories at the 2021 edition.
“When I won the gold, I felt my late father’s presence. I could hear his voice in my head chanting my name from the arena, cheering my victory. I couldn’t see him physically but I could feel his presence as if he had never departed. When I triumphed, the first image that crossed my mind was of my father. I realised that I had finally fulfilled his wish. The medal was for him and all the sacrifices he had made for me. For me, he will always remain my greatest supporter and inspiration,” Manisha told TOI.
The victory tasted sweeter as Manisha had overcome some of the biggest names in women’s wrestling. She commenced with a technical superiority win over Kazakhstan’s Tynys Dubek. In the quarters, she pinned Korean Republic’s Hanbit Lee before overcoming defending champion Kyrgyzstan’s Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy 5-1 in the semis.
Talking about her journey, Manisha took up the sport at the late age of 18, initially for fitness improvement when she weighed 65kg. Her elder brother and former kabaddi player, Rinku, enrolled her at the famous Sir Chotu Ram academy in Rohtak.
“What began as recreational sport evolved into a passion. My genuine wrestling journey commenced in 2022 when I first defeated Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik in the Asian meet selection trials. I subsequently defeated her in World championships trials and senior Nationals. Since then, my career has progressed steadily. I trained under coaches Mandeep Saini and Somdev Balal at the academy,” she said.
Manisha recounted the tough period when wrestling activities in the country stopped owing to the protests by several eminent female wrestlers against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and subsequently due to the federation’s suspension by the sports ministry.
“I wasn’t affiliated with the protests group. I never participated in the agitation. I remained focused on my wrestling. It was a challenging period for all the female wrestlers in the country. For the last two-and-a-half years, we (wrestlers) have suffered a lot due to the absence of national camps and domestic and international competitions. Numerous age-group wrestlers couldn’t procure governmentt positions with their respective states while others abandoned the sport owing to the prevailing uncertainty. From my personal perspective, whatever happened shouldn’t have transpired. Hopefully, with the WFI regaining recognition and competitions resuming, things can improve,” she said.
