India, Sept. 12 -- It's August 31, and Antim Panghal has turned 22. She is seeking blessings and some birthday cheer. She approaches a small group of journalists in the dimly-lit KD Jadhav Hall at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Stadium with a smile and a box of sweets, her gaze occasionally shifting to the mat where the selection trials for the under-23 World Championships are on.

"I need to watch out for the next crop," she jokes. It's funny considering she still has two years to compete at the U-23 level along with the seniors. Days like these are ideal to look back and peer into the future. Antim is game for it.

"It's been an eventful ride, my career. I have literally grown up on the mat. I have no complaints from life, although I won't mind ...