Ranchi: She comes from a family of masons in Odisha`s Dhenkanal district but she was attracted towards wrestling.
"Since my childhood I have always seen my father working with bricks and cement at construction sites. When my father saw me wrestling with girls of my age, he encouraged me," 24-year-old Rambha Sahu said.
Rambha`s interest in the sport took wings when a selection team was impressed with her physique and talent, and admitted her in the SAI hostel in 2003. She was provided scholarship of Rs 500 per month and school uniform. "My coach (Bhatt) taught me wrestling skills till he was transferred to another place. And then I was trained by national coach Sib Charan Bose till he retired in 2007.
"Thereafter, I continued to practice with a couple of other girls. Finally my dream to represent the country ended when the hostel was closed permanently," she said. But Rambha never gave up in her pursuit to make wrestling a career. "I enrolled in Indira Gandhi Open University to continue both studies and wrestling." She said, "I represented the state and university competitions. Though I won medals at university and inter-district levels, I failed a podium finish at national championships due to physically superior girls from Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, who get good help from their respective state governments." PTI