National Games 2022: Wrestler Divya Kakran, representing UP, wins gold in different weight category

women’s 68kg category represented Uttar Pradesh as her home state at the Games. However, Kakran has claimed on several occasions that she has been practising the sport of wrestling for the last 22 years in Delhi’s Gokulpuri area in East district and has represented the state from 2011 to 2017. This time, the two-time Asian Championships gold medallist would be happy to receive a cheque of Rs 6 lakh from the UP government for her top of the podium finish at the Games. The UP government has a policy of rewarding the gold, silver and bronze medallists with a cash prize of Rs 6 lakh, Rs 4 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.

At the Games, on the opening day of the wrestling competitions here, Divya was happy talking about her performance and the change of her weight class from the original 68kg to the newly-adopted 76kg. In the final, she defeated Himachal Pradesh’s Rani ‘by fall’. “This is the first time I have competed in the 76kg class and, moving forward, I will be participating in this weight category. After the Birmingham CWG, I had put on some weight, and it was difficult to cut down. The training wasn’t good after the break. I thought rather than cutting down on weight, it would be ideal to adapt to 76kg. So, I’ll continue to compete in this weight division,” said Kakran, who had won the bronze at the Kerala National Games in 2015.