Indian woman wrestler Babita Phogat has taken extra steps -- quite literally -- to endorse the cause of the girl child: She took one extra 'phera' at her marriage with fellow wrestler Vivek Suhag. The couple is said to have taken eight -- instead of customary seven -- rounds around the sacred fire to support the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign. The Commonwealth Games 2010 gold medalist tied the knot on Sunday with Suhag. The wedding rituals and ceremonies were conducted at their ancestral village Balali in Haryana.
Her sister Geeta Phogat also shared the pictures from the wedding, wherein the bride is seen wearing a red lehenga.
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan tweeted congratulatory messages and wrote, "Dear Babita Phogat, wishing you and Vivek Suhag a happy, healthy and fulfilling marriage together. Love."
Dear @BabitaPhogat, wishing you and @SuhagVivek a happy, healthy and fulfilling marriage together.
Love.
a.— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) December 3, 2019
The actor-producer's 2016 blockbuster Dangal was based on the real-life journey of Babita and her elder sister Geeta, and narrated how their father Mahavir Singh Phogat created wrestling champions out of them. While Aamir played Mahavir Phogat in the film, Sanya Malhotra in an impressive debut act, essayed Babita. Fatima Sana Shaikh played the elder sister Geeta Phogat. Directed by Nitish Tiwari, Dangal has raked in over Rs 2,000 crore at the global box-office and remains Bollywood's biggest hit of all times.
Coming from Haryana, a state known as being blatantly male-dominated, Babita won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and silver medals at the 2010 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, besides numerous other honours. After the release of the film, the Phogat sisters became household names. She also appeared in the dance reality show Nach Baliye and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2019.
(Source: IANS/Twitter)