Indian school for wrestling helps women chase life and glory

SISAI, India : Driven by dreams of winning medals for their country, two dozen girls and young women train to become wrestlers in a cluster of white one-storey buildings set on a dusty track winding through farmland on the edge a north Indian village.

Run by a husband and wife convinced that sport can fuel aspirations and build confidence, the Altius wrestling school in the village of Sisai in Haryana state, about three hours' drive from the Indian capital, aims to change perceptions.

"There is no value of a woman in a village," Usha Sharma, India's first female wrestling coach, told Reuters. "In a village, an animal has more value to it than a woman, as an animal gives milk and there is cost attached to it."

Whether or not they become champions, the girls from humble families receive rare lessons in female empowerment during their training at the residential centre Sharma set up in 2009, along with her husband, Sanjay Sihag, a sports teacher.

Sharma, 50, is a serving police officer, and her stark comments indict rural society in a country where poverty, tradition and conservative attitudes hinder women's rights.

In the nearby fields, village women, covered from head to toe, graze cattle. Some of the students could have shared that destiny, but for the chance of a different life that the school has given them.

"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 were now being favoured by the men in the family," said Sharma.

Her husband manages day-to-day affairs at the academy which provides a safe space where students, aged between eight and 22, build a strong sense of sisterhood, honing the skills and resilience needed to succeed in