Olympic Channel examines wrestling's Phogat family

The Olympic Channel has unveiled a six-part docuseries following the lives of Indian wrestling family the Phogats. 

Co-produced by Aurora and Greymatter Entertainment, it follows the Phogat family, guided by the legendary wrestling coach and family patriarch Mahavir Phogat, as he entrusts his family with his Olympic dream. It also stars other top wrestlers and former gold medal winners from the family, Geeta, Babita, Ritu, Sangeeta, Bajrang Punia, and emerging talent Dushyant Phogat.

The show aims to give insights into the Phogat family dynamics, their victories & heartbreaks and their single-minded focus to chase the Olympic dream. One central theme is the challenges faced by female wrestlers in India’s traditionally male-dominated sport. Girls were very seldom seen on a wrestling mat, until Geeta Phogat - the eldest Phogat sibling - became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a Commonwealth gold in 2010 and narrowly lost out on a bronze medal in London 2012. She now works in the Haryana Police.

Babita Phogat, the second sibling, won Commonwealth gold in 2016 and silver in 2018, before moving into politics. Ritu Phogat, the third sibling, is the first Indian woman to have joined One Championship, Asia’s top MMA platform. Sangeeta Phogat, the fourth sibling is one of the top Indian wrestlers in her weight category and is married to two-time Olympic medalist in wrestling, Bajrang Punia. The youngest sibling - Dushyant Phogat a young male wrestler in his early 20s - is trying to find his place in the world of these powerful women. The series also explores the role of the supportive family husbands as they break stereotypes by supporting their ambitious wives in the male-dominated arena.

The series was captured over three intense months of filming in 2022. Production followed the family deep into the heartland of Haryana in northern India, to the national capital New Delhi and as far as Singapore to catch a flavour of MMA competition. The filming was conducted with local Indian crews and captured in Indian language, as well as the final series being delivered in Hindi. Post-production was carried out in Mumbai and London.

The series is now available to watch on the Olympics Channel through Olympics.com and the Olympics mobile apps. Broadcast Sport spoke to Olympic Channel editor-in-chief Mary Byrne last month about how the organisation is trying to promote female sports with series such as Wrestling My Family. She noted, “For us, it’s about telling stories about women, but not just on the field. Who are they as a person? They’re not just an athlete. It’s a huge part of who they are, certainly. But what are the other things that they’re super passionate about, and are we reflecting that? Geographic diversity, economic diversity, that we’re telling different types of stories about different types of female athletes, is really important as well.”