New Delhi: Last month, two 22-year-olds — Aparna Dahiya and Shivani — clinched gold medals at the 11th Sanda World Cup in Macao, China. While Aparna won in the 58kg category, Shivani claimed the top spot in the 75kg event. The two youngsters were India’s only gold medallists, helping the country finish third overall in the competition with two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.
Hailing from Kharkhoda village in Haryana, Aparna took up the sport at school when she was 11. What started as a self-defence exercise gradually became a career choice. Her father, Bijendra Dahiya, is a farmer and her mother, Beena Devi, is a homemaker.
“My parents always supported me. They’d often say, ‘Tumhe jo karna hai karo. If you want to study, then study; if you want to play, then play,’” she remembered. By the time she turned 19, Dahiya landed a job as an Income Tax Officer in Mumbai through the sports quota while continuing her graduation in Physical Education.
Despite Wushu’s limited following in India, she persisted with the sport as she “loved the combination of kicking and punching.” In Macao, Aparna got the better of reigning world champion Thi Phuong Nga Ngo in straight sets. With the win, she also avenged her loss to Ngo at last year’s World Wushu Championship in Brasília.
Her recent successes include gold at the Wushu Stars Championship 2022 in Moscow, gold at the BRICS Games 2024 in Russia, and silver at the Asian Championships 2024 in Macau.
The other gold medallist from India, Shivani, comes from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. She took up Wushu at school because they only had trainers for Wushu.
Her father, Ravindra Kumar, runs a general store and her mother Mithlesh Devi is a homemaker. “In the beginning, no one liked or supported her playing Wushu, not only in the society but in the family as well,” her father told HT, Things, however, began to change as medals started to pour in.
“Still, there were people who would mock her saying, ‘Yeh ladko wala game hai, ladki ko lag jayegi,’” he added.
However, once she got a job in BSF through the sports quota, no one questioned her anymore.
Following their success at the Sanda World Cup in Macao, both Aparna and Shivani have set their sights on the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. With a total of 88 medals, China are the traditional powerhouses in Wushu while India have so far won only 10 medals across nine Asiad editions as the wait for a maiden gold continues.
