Wrestling My Family

Wrestling My Family for The Olympic Channel is a unique, all-access reality series following the lives of India’s most famous wrestling family – The Phogats.

Co-produced by Aurora and Greymatter Entertainment, the six-part series presents an intimate and immersive portrayal of the Phogat family, guided by the legendary wrestling coach and family patriarch Mahavir Phogat, as he entrusts his family with his Olympic dream. The series features top Indian wrestlers and gold medal winners from the family such as Geeta, Babita, Ritu, Sangeeta, Bajrang Punia, and emerging talent Dushyant Phogat.

The series was captured over three intense months of filming in 2022. Production followed the family deep into the heartland of Haryana in northern India, to the national capital New Delhi and as far as Singapore to catch a flavour of MMA competition. The filming was conducted with local Indian crews and captured in Indian language, as well as the final series being delivered in Hindi. Post-production was carried out in Mumbai and London.

A story of triumph against all odds, the reality series delves into how the parents of four girls and a young boy have used wrestling to find a better life and write their names into the history books. Giving insights into the Phogat family dynamics, their victories & heartbreaks and their single-minded focus to chase the Olympic dream.

A strong central theme to the series is the challenges faced by female wrestlers in India's traditionally male-dominated sport. Girls were very seldom seen on a wrestling mat (or 'mud akhada' as is the phrase locally).

• Until Geeta Phogat - the eldest Phogat sibling - became the 1st Indian woman wrestler to win a Commonwealth gold in 2010 and narrowly lost out on a bronze medal in London 2012.
• Babita Phogat, the second sibling, won Commonwealth gold in 2016 and silver in 2018.
• Ritu Phogat, the third sibling, is the first Indian woman to have joined One Championship, Asia's top MMA platform.
• Sangeeta Phogat, the fourth sibling is one of the top Indian wrestlers in her weight category and is married to 2-time Olympic medalist in wrestling, Bajrang Punia.
• The youngest sibling - Dushyant Phogat a young male wrestler in his early 20s - is trying to find his place in the world of these powerful women. The series also explores the role of the supportive family husbands as they break stereotypes by supporting their ambitious wives in the male-dominated arena.

The production team immersed themselves in the daily lives of the family, including travelling to remote villages with accompanying language barriers. This immersive filming process was necessary in order to fully understand the power, influence and drive of this amazing family. Bumpy roads and dusty lanes were par for the course. Following the traditions of the local ‘akhada’ academies, the film crew became accustomed to drinking almond milk every day to beat the heat and stay hydrated, and eating local food by the roadside 'dhabas'.

The six-part series is available to watch in full for free on The Olympic Channel and on the official Olympics apps for mobile and connected TV devices.