As India's first and only professional female sumo wrestler, you'd think Hetal Dave would be a celebrity with fans jostling for her autograph. But in a country obsessed with cricket and its stars, she fights not just anonymity but also basic issues such as funding. "Even after standing at number five on the world charts, I still have issues finding sponsors," says the 27-year-old, who's about 5'6'' tall and who holds the Yokozuna, the top-most rank for professional sumo wrestling.
It's not so elsewhere. "I was as usual, alone," she says, recalling a trip to Estonia. "I was a little anxious as to how I was going to get through a city I've never stepped foot in before. To my surprise and utmost gratitude, the mayor of Estonia received me at the airport and escorted me to my hotel. He later called up his daughter, who was fluent in English and asked her to keep me company for the rest of my trip," Hetal says, smiling.
While India refuses to acknowledge its only professional female sumo wrestler, the countries who have hosted her, have compensated for it. "The entire organisation body of sumo wrestling knows I am a vegetarian and they make special efforts to provide me with meals," she says.
Tracing her extraordinary journey from a management student to the wrestling ring, Hetal says, "It all began when I was practising judo under my coach Cawas Billimoria, who's a professional sumo wrestler… It was through him, that I was introduced to sumo-wrestling and I got hooked."
Hetal's heart was set on the rough sport and she never looked back from that quiet beginning, when she moved from being a judo regular at the NSCI club to the ring. Her heart set on this rough sport, Hetal hasn't looked back since. "When I first tried sumo wrestling, I won about three out of the five matches I played. This further encouraged me to pursue it and here I am," she says humbly.
Hetal participated in her very first sumo-wrestling match in 2008. She has since participated in Estonia, Taiwan and Poland representing India in global sumo competitions in two World Championships, one World Games and at the Asian Championships, where she ranks fifth in the women's middleweight category at the 2009 World Games in Taiwan.
"Since sumo wrestling is not recognised as an Olympic sport, the government does not know about it yet," she said, with an air of disappointment. She further elaborated, "For two world championships, I managed to find a sponsor for the tournaments, but otherwise I find myself going from door to door, trying to find and convince people to sponsor me."
To a layperson, sumo wrestling may look like simply pushing someone out of a ring but it is a tough, exacting sport. "Sumo wrestling largely involves being alert and quick. A match can get over in seconds and there is no constant winner so there's no way you can contemplate and spend too much time thinking about your moves," says Hetal.
The vegetarian Hetal is surprisingly not the overtly big size of traditional Japanese sumo wrestlers. In fact she weighs only about 78 kgs. But the competition is fair because there are weight categories, she says. "I don't think it's necessary to be huge as the sumo wrestlers in Japan. As for me, it's more of internal strength than external. I know I have it in me, and so, I do it."
She doesn't follow the dietary routine of professional sumo wrestlers in Japan either and stresses that she has a normal diet. "I usually focus on eating healthy. I get most of my proteins from beans," she says.
Day in her life
When not in the ring, Hetal spends her time teaching judo in schools. Her day begins with rigorous cardio exercises followed by sumo wrestling techniques at the Oval Maidan. After the rigours of the morning, she heads to school and her students. And in the evening, she practises once more
Hetal is often accompanied by her father Sudhir Dave, who gave up his job to support her in her unusual career choice. "I often observe skilled moves by professional sumo wrestlers and then direct her as to how to improvise," says Sudhir, who has never missed a single tournament. In fact, Hetal calls him her her lucky charm!
Next up could well be a degree in sports. "I did my graduation in management studies, but for some reason education was never my forte. I was always an outdoorsy person, and wrestling is my passion…Though I am still contemplating whether I should pursue a degree or not. A sports degree sounds fascinating," she trails off.
