GURUGRAM: Seventeen-year-old Ritik Umeed is among the three mute wrestlers from Haryana who won one gold and two bronze medals at the 5th World Deaf Wrestling Championship, held in Russia from June 11-19.
While Gurugram lad Ritik and Ajay Kumar, from Sonipat, bagged a bronze medal in 65kg freestyle and 51kg freestyle in cadet category, respectively, Amit Krishan (19), also from Sonipat, won gold in 70kg junior category.
All the three wrestlers are alumni of Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment, a government-aided NGO, which has eight centres across Haryana. Ritik is a student at the Welfare Centre for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment, Gurugram. He took up wrestling as a recreational sport, but soon found himself competing in this sport.
SPS Gill, teacher at Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment, said, “Ritik was selected for this international tournament after competing in the open category for the Deaf and Dumb Wrestling Championship held in Delhi this May.”
He comes from a modest family in Jhajjar, and has nine other siblings. His mother and a sister are also mute. “His father is a farmer and can barely make both ends meet. He came to the centre when he was 7-year-old, and today at 17, he is studying in class VIII and has learnt sign language to communicate,” added Gill.
During Ritik’s matches, there are no whistles to signal the end of a play or a point. Mute wrestlers are given a slight nudge by the referees instead. “Mute wrestlers take extra time to understand the rules of the game. I always told him to look towards me during the match, so that I can tell him through sign language what to do next,” said Maha Gill, chief coach, deaf and dumb wrestling in India.
“Before this championship, he has taken part in 50 ‘dangals’ out of which he has won 30,” said Jai Veer, who runs the akhara where Ritik trains at Bupania in Jhajjar. “This was the first international event Ritik has participated in. He took up wrestling only two years back but I knew of his potential,” said Veer.
“Ritik is always full of life. Since he was a kid, sports was part of his life. He initially participated in athletics and judo before taking up wrestling,” said Raj Kumar, Ritik’s elder brother.
The Haryana government has officially recognised mute athletes and it will be part of the government programme to back them at every stage of their career. The players participated in the tournament with the efforts of Haryana Sports Council of the Deaf, affiliated to All India Sports Council of the Deaf, which, in turn, is affiliated to the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.
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