Template:Infobox sportsperson Hetal Dave is India's first and only professional female sumo wrestler.[1][2] In 2008, the woman from Mumbai made it into the Limca Book of Records.[3][4]
She participated in the 2009 World Games held in Taiwan, but went out in the first round.[5][6]
Personal life
Her father and brother were very supportive of her interests in pursuing the sport.[7] She is a commerce graduate and also trains students in wrestling and judo in different schools.[8]
Dave is a Judo trainer and she started her Judo lessons when she was around 6.[7][9]
Training
Dave has no opponents to train with in India so has to practice with male players and also her brother Akshay. Indian doesn't have a Sumo Ring, so she had to practice in natural terrain, and she chose Oval Maidan in South Mumbai.[6]
Cawas Billimoria was her coach and her first international championship in Estonia, in 2008. She came among the global top 8 and was included in a list of 150 fearless women by Newsweek.[10]
After Estonia, Dave has represented India in tournaments at Poland, Finland and Taiwan. At the 2009 World Games, she stood fifth in the women's middleweight category.[11][12]
Recognition
Sumo wrestling is not among the recognized sports in India, even then Dave has represented India in several competitions.[13]
References
- ↑ Look, who's in the ring: Meet Hetal Dave, India's first professional woman sumo wrestler. Dnaindia.com(27 September 2015).
- ↑ Eat, pray, wrestle. Telegraphindia.com(15 May 2016).
- ↑ Indian woman hopes to conquer Sumo. BBC News. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ I am India’s first and only female sumo wrestler: Hetal Dave, TIWARI, KHUSHBOO. www.thishour.in(30 December 2016). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ↑ Beauty and Brawn: Indian woman sumo wrestler at World Games. Zeenews.india.com(17 July 2009).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Who says Sumo wrestling is confined to Japan? India's Hetal Dave is here to prove all your myths wrong(2016-03-16). Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 India's 1st Female Sumo Wrestler, Finds Getting To The Ring More Difficult Than Fighting In It!. indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ Watch: 'Should I wait for a biopic to be taken seriously?' says sumo wrestler Hetal Dave. Scroll.in. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ Peerless in the Ring: Meet India’s Only Female Sumo Wrestler. Time. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ↑ Hetal Dave: Breaking hard ground. Business Standard India(2015-11-28). Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ Hetal Dave Is India's First and Only Female Sumo Wrestler, but Not Many Know Her. VagaBomb(2015-09-10). Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ Her name is Hetal Dave, the only woman sumo wrestler in India! She’s also ill-fated! – The Voice Of Nation. The Voice Of Nation(2015-09-16). Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ↑ Hetal Dave: Meet India's first and only professional female sumo wrestler(2018-08-09). Retrieved 2019-06-11.