1. The daughter of a tractor driver with the Haryana Animal Husbandry Centre in Hisar, Pooja Dhanda started as a judo player at Mahabir Stadium but switched to wrestling in 2009.
11 Facts About Pooja Dhanda
1. 2.
Pooja Dhanda is the daughter of Kamlesh Dhanda and father, Ajmer who was an athlete himself.
3.
Pooja Dhanda began her sporting journey with Judo in 2007.
4.
Pooja Dhanda was still below the minimum age required to participate in wrestling federation competitions, and hence started playing Judo.
5.
Pooja Dhanda first secured a Bronze medal at Asian Cadet Judo Championship at Hyderabad in 2007 and then won a Gold at the same event in its 2008 edition.
6.
Pooja Dhanda began to train for wrestling under coach Subhash Chander Soni at Hisar in 2009.
7.
In 2010 Pooja Dhanda won Silver in wrestling at the Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
8.
Pooja Dhanda won against famous grappler Babita Phogat in the final of the National Championship in 2013 and then won a Bronze medal at the Asian Championship in 2014.
9.
Pooja Dhanda had to undergo surgeries in Mumbai and follow a long process of rehabilitation.
10.
Pooja Dhanda was screened and originally selected to play the role of Babita Phogat in blockbuster Dangal, which she could not play due to an injury.
11.
However, Pooja Dhanda later competed against and defeated senior Phogat sister Geeta Phogat in the real-life 2018 Commonwealth Games selection trials.