There were so many calls, I switched off my phone: Wrestler Nisha Dahiya on her trauma after mistaken identity

One day she was reported dead and the next day lauded for becoming the national champion.

Nisha Dahiya's — two young women wrestlers with similar names and both from Haryana — made contradictory headlines that baffled many.

While it ended in the tragic death of one, it was hours of confusion coupled with traumatic moments and needless attention for the other ‘alive’ Nisha.

It all began when a 21-year-old wrestler and her brother were shot dead in Sonepat last month. However, Nisha, who is from Panipat and had won a bronze medal a few days earlier in the 65kg category at the Wrestling under-23 World Championships in Serbia, was mistakenly identified as the murdered trainee wrestler.

Also Read | Wrestler Nisha Dahiya says she's alive after reports of her being shot dead emerge

“It was like any other competition day when all of a sudden the news of my murder began spreading like wildfire,” Nisha said while speaking to DH.

“And because it was telecast as flash news on reputed media channels, people obviously believed it. I went blank,” she recalled about the incident unfolding on the evening of November 10, when she was in fact in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh competing in the National Wrestling Championships.

Currently at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Ballari for her off-season training, the grappler who is only focused on preparing for a hectic 2022 calendar ahead, was now able to laugh off the crazy few hours. “Though I clarified that I was safe and sound on social media within a few hours of the news breaking out, my phone didn’t stop ringing. There were so many calls that I couldn’t talk to my parents for over a day. I switched it off. It was chaotic,” she added.

Breaking news

Convenience prevailed over fact-checking or verification as the photo of the better known Nisha among the two became viral. Due diligence over the urge to carry the ‘breaking news’ would have avoided all the chaos and confusion.

“Even after speaking to my mother, she couldn’t stop crying while watching the news. I don’t know what was running in her mind.

“Was it tears of relief or just the thought of ‘what if the news was true’ that made her emotional, I will never know,” said Nisha.

To make things worse, some from the media ended up at her doorstep to get ‘reactions’ from her family members. Questions such as ‘What was your reaction to the news of her getting murdered?’, ‘How does it feel to know your daughter is not dead but alive?’, ‘Did you believe she was dead?’, ‘After you got to know she was okay, what did you tell her over the phone?’...were relentlessly pursued.

“Some media persons asked my parents’ phone numbers to get their reactions,” she said looking amused.

More than a month since the strange turn of events, the gritty Nisha - who is now back from the “dead” - has left the incident behind as she looks forward to make the right kind of ‘breaking news’ - by winning medals for the country.

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