Haryana Elections 2019: BJP Candidate, Acclaimed Wrestler Babita Phogat Loses From Dadri Assembly Seat

Phogat was comprehensively defeated by independent candidate Sombir. She finished third behind Sombir (Independent) and Jannayak Janta Party's Satpal Sangwan.

CHARKHI-DADRI, INDIA - OCTOBER 5: BJP candidate Babita Phogat during a door-to-door campaigning, on October 5, 2019 in Charkhi-Dadri, India. (Photo by Manoj Dhaka via Getty Images)

New Delhi: Acclaimed Indian female wrestler Babita Phogat's political debut did not start off on a winning note as she had to taste defeat from independent candidate Sombir in the Haryana Assembly elections. Contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from the Dadri constituency, Phogat was comprehensively defeated by independent candidate Sombir. She finished third behind Sombir (Independent) and Jannayak Janta Party's Satpal Sangwan. The BJP candidate tallied tallied 24,502 votes to Sombir's 43,589. JJP's Sangwan garnered 29,319 votes. Phogat is a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. She also clinched a bronze medal at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships. Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal was loosely based the Phogat family. Her sister, Geeta, is a pioneering wrestler while their father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a Dronacharya Award-winning coach who trained his daughters in the sport. Phogat has long been voicing support for the BJP's policies in the country before she formally joined the party in August 2019.