She would not have become an international wrestler had her father not been strict. Perhaps, she would have been confined to the four walls of the house as a shy girl. These were the childhood stories of two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Babita Phogat at the third edition of Playwrite, a sports literature festival, here. The first session named Olympic Dreams was started by one of the founders of Playwrite, Vivek Atray, a former IAS officer. The session featured Babita, daughter of wrestling coach and Dronacharaya award winner Mahavir Singh Phogat, whose character was played by Aamir Khan in the blockbuster "Dangal".

"Dangal movie wasn't an exaggeration. In fact, in reality, I and my sisters weren't even allowed to attend family weddings by my stringent father, if they came in between our training. We had nowhere to escape to, when your own father is your coach," she said. Recalling her childhood, she said she would often ask her mother why her life had made so difficult by her father.