SEEMA Seema

General
WEIGHT CHANGES
She has changed weight categories multiple times during her career. She won gold in the 46kg category at the 2009 Asian Cadet Championships in Pune, India, but after sustaining a shoulder and neck injury in 2012, she began competing in the 67kg category. "I suffered a bad injury to my neck as a junior. I was able to compete but the doctors told me to avoid cutting weight because that would increase the chance of picking up more injuries. Even at the best of times I was around 58kg. My option was competing in the 67kg category or not competing at all." In 2017 she switched to the 53kg category, and then moved to 50kg in 2019 after compatriot Vinesh Phogat moved up to 53kg for the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. (khelnow.com, 10 May 2021; indianexpress.com, 09 May 2021; newindianexpress.com, 08 May 2021; espn.in, 30 Jul 2019)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
In 2017 she considered retiring from freestyle wrestling, believing she would not be able to progress following a shoulder and neck injury in 2012, which forced her to change weight categories. She was encouraged to remain in the sport by coach Paramjeet Yadav, who took her under his wing. "For four years I didn't get the chance to play a single tournament as a senior. I also hadn't won a single national title as a senior. Many times I was sad, I wondered, 'When will my chance come?' Of course you feel bad and left out when others are doing well. I wanted coaches to train me hard like they did with other girls, but my sessions would not last more than a few minutes. Most of my training was outside the mat. I would get irritated, lose focus easily, but no one paid attention to me. I don't know why. You can't do anything if you do not have the support of an able guru. And I found mine in Paramjeet." (indianexpress.com, 12 May 2021; sportstar.thehindu.com, 12 May 2021; khelnow.com, 10 May 2021; espn.in, 30 Jul 2019)