Just wanted to become a wrestling World Champion: Hardeep Chhillar

Earlier this week in Athens, 16-year-old Hardeep Chhillar etched his name in history by becoming India's first-ever U17 world champion in the men’s 110kg Greco-Roman category.

“I just wanted to win the gold medal and become a world champion,” Hardeep said, speaking to The Bridge from Greece.

“My strategy was to keep him moving and exhaust him. Once he was tired, I made my move,” he added.

But behind his golden exploits in Greece, Hardeep’s story is one of adversity, grit, and ambition.

Raised by an uncle

Hardeep was only five years of age when he lost both his parents in a road accident. Since then, his life has been shaped by the sacrifices made by his uncle, Jasbir Singh, who quit his job as a security guard in Delhi to raise Hardeep and his elder brother, Sameer.

Jasbir has two daughters and a son of his own, but he chose to dedicate his energy entirely to the boys left behind by his brother.

“We didn’t have enough funds. I had two pieces of land measuring around 9,000 square yards. I sold both last year to make sure their training is not hampered,” Jasbir said.

Despite his international success, Hardeep is entitled to a meagre monthly stipend under the Sports Authority of India’s scheme — an amount released only after submitting a form once a year, his uncle revealed.

A wrestler’s monthly expenditure — a nutritious diet and training included — comes at a cost. And a stipend, Jasbir reveals, is grossly inadequate.

“He gets Rs. 1000 every month, and that too it doesn’t get credited sometimes. We have to fill out a form every year. It is some SAI’s scheme for small children. For the expense, I’ve never calculated. You just do it when it’s for your family. But an international wrestler doesn’t get results overnight. It is a result of years of hard work. To raise a good wrestler, one needs to spare somewhere around Rs. 70,000 per month,” he said.

A family of wrestlers

Wrestling runs in Hardeep’s blood. His father and grandfather were wrestlers. The teenager now lives and trains at the Sonu Akhada in Mandothi under Arjuna Awardee coach Dharmendra Dalal.

“Dadaji said ‘Akhade mein rehna hai’,” Hardeep recalled, adding “Coach told me, ‘Desh ke liye gold leke aana hai, silver aur bronze to bahut la chuke’ (Win gold for the country, a lot of wrestlers have won silver and bronze).”

Buoyed by his coach, Hardeep did not disappoint.

And this is not the first time. Hardeep has won three international medals in Greco-Roman, including a gold in 2025 Asian U17 Championship in Vietnam this year. He also has a freestyle gold at the national level.

Hardeep feels his triumph in Greece will inspire Greco-Roman wrestlers to believe in themselves.

“Young wrestlers will believe it (winning medals) is possible. The next generation will learn,” Hardeep said.

And belief was something that he had to bank on during the bout himself. At halftime, he was trailing 0-3, but soon recovered to beat Iran’s Yazdan Delrouz on criteria after the scores were level at 3-3 at the end of the regulation time.

“The wrestler from Iran was tall and technically better than Hardeep. His only weakness was that he would get tired very soon. Towards the end, Hardeep executed a move called Duck under or Bugle and won,” Greco-Roman coach Gurpreet Singh reflected.

While the country's wrestling fraternity might acknowledge his achievement, at this very moment of joy, young Hardeep misses his parents.

“His parents would be so proud of him if they were here today,” Singh said, echoing Hardeep’s feelings.

As for the 16-year-old, all he wants to do now is bring the medal back home.

“I will make my uncle wear this medal,” Hardeep said in a somber tone.

That one sentence narrates the hardship and sacrifices the family has had to make, just so the little boy from Bamnoli could dream and dare to take on the world and win.