Wrestling
Favorite athlete: Tina Rahimi
Favorite team: None
Favorite memory competing in sports: First time pinning a guy
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Chipping my sisters front tooth while practicing
Music on Playlist: 500lbs by Lil Tecca
Future plans: Succeed as a student-athlete and academically
Words to live by: “The person you want to be in the future is hiding behind the hard work you’re avoiding”
One goal before turning 30: Be an inspiration to all women in male-dominated sports and inspire other women to take a step no matter how hard it may be
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m going to be wrestling in college with the hijab.
Words to live by: “The person you want to be in the future is hiding behind the hard work you’re avoiding”
By GORDON GLANTZ
A few years ago, William Tennent wrestling coach Joe Stabilito was looking for a few good women.
Not to serve as team managers, but to become wrestlers themselves.
That’s when Anjaleen “Anj” Siddiqui answered the call, and the bar on the program was raised ever since.
“We advertised that we were looking for some girls to wrestle,” said Stabilito. “She popped up and said, ‘Yeah, I want to sign up.’ It was her and one other girl. She has helped us to build the program. She has been a real leader for us. She is our captain, of course. She does anything you ask her to do, and she is the hardest working person in the room. At practice, there is no smile on her face. She is all work. She’s all business.
“She’s a quiet kid. She’s just focused on what she needs to do. She’s pretty serious most of the time. She’s a leader, though. The girls listen to what she says. She does a super job of that.”
Soddiqqui remembers the moment that changed her life, at least as a student-athlete.
“I showed up, and (Stabilito) kind of pushed me to do it,” she said, adding that she had previously tried flag football but it didn’t take. “My brother (Muhammed Aryan Siddiqui) was a senior, and he had tried it out. He also pushed me to do it. So, from there, I kind of went ahead and did it and just loved it.”
While helping the program gain its footing, Siddiqui has done the same for herself in a steady rise to prominence.
“She’s only been wrestling for three years,” said Stabilito. “She came to us with no experience at all. Like I said, she’s the hardest working person in the room, and that’s for boys and girls. She’s always trying hard. She’s always listening. She is a super great person to work with.”
Her current status, which is as a legit state contender at 112 pounds who plans to continue wrestling at the collegiate level at Delaware Valley University (Del Val), belies humble beginnings.
“Her first year, I think she won just one or two matches,” said Stabilito. “Last year, she had a good season against the girls. She was 16-4. This year, she is really wrestling well.”
Soddiqui explained that she was undeterred by the difficult beginning to her career.
Wrestling against boys only made taking on girls that much easier.
“My first year, my sophomore year, it was very difficult for me,” she said. “All I would do was wrestle against boys, so it wouldn’t really be a match to my skills. Constantly, I would lose the matches, and that would bring my self-confidence down.
“In my junior year, I finally got some girl matches. All the work from the previous year, it helped that year. It was just a lot better.”
A Growing Sport
Soddiqui has been joined on the squad by her younger sister, 118-pounder Aereen.
“I pushed her to try it out, and she loved it from the beginning as well,” said Soddiqui.
All told, including the daughters of Hamid Jameel Siddiqui and Faryal Hamid Soddiqui, there are now 11 girls on the Tennent team.
That is not an anomaly.
“It’s the biggest growing sport in the country right now,” said Stabilito. “It’s growing every day. You see colleges popping up every day with new programs. It’s a good opportunity for girls right now.”
With girls wrestling now officially sanctioned by the state, Siddiqui will have the chance to be in the spotlight.
“For two years, she wrestled against boys and girls,” said Stabilito. “This year, she is just wrestling against girls.
“This is a better experience for them, because boys like to show off and think that they are tough guys. She has beaten a couple of guys, but she stays very humble.”
Soddiqui has developed an approach that works well for her.
“My style is to feel out the opponent and see what they are going to do first,” she said. “By the time that time comes, you either have to be defensive or offensive. I like to be offensive. That way, you can score more points in the beginning. Then again, you can get too tired at first, too, because you can end up in the wrong place. It really depends on your opponent.”
A Coachable Leader
Tennent has also added a coach this season, Amanda Walker, to work with the girls separately who returned to the area after four years at Pitt.
Although she didn’t wrestle in college, the Upper Moreland graduate got into coaching at North Allegheny High while in college.
“She has done a super job with the girls,” said Stabilito of Walker. “That has really helped our girls. She can really relate to them. It’s been a blessing to have her this year.”
The sentiments were echoed by Soddiqui, who appreciates the one-on-one time Walker spends with each female wrestler on the team.
“That has helped me to really focus on my mistakes, like during actual matches,” she said, adding that another help was a karate background when she was much younger.
As is the case with Stabilito, Walker has been impressed with Siddiqui, as both a person and an athlete.
“She is the easiest person to coach,” said Walker. “She listens extremely well, and she works extremely hard. She is an asset to have in the room, and to have around as a leader to all the newer girls to the sport.”
Being one of the first two to answer the bell, Soddiqui feels she has no choice but to be a leader.
“Definitely,” she said. “There are a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and they don’t know what’s going on as much as I do, since it’s my third year. I just try to be there for everyone and take into account what they’re saying.”
Officially Official
Although girls wrestling was not officially recognized, Soddiqui qualified for the unsanctioned state tournament but missed out because of an injury.
“She was fourth in the region last year,” said Stabilito. “She would’ve done well at states. I don’t know where she would have placed, but it would have been a really good experience for her.”
That only enhances the goal for this season.
“I’m going to miss her next year when she leaves us, but we have some time to go,” said Stabilito. “She wants to medal at states. That’s her goal for this year.
“Her weight class is probably the best in the state. There are four girls who placed at states last year that will be in her weight class. She knows she has a real challenge ahead, but she’s up for it.”
Walker believes Soddiqui’s hard work will be rewarded when it matters most.
“I think she will do extremely well,” said Walker. “She works super hard. As the season goes on, she’s going to improve. She has some little things to improve on that will send her leaps ahead. I think she will do well at states.”
Soddiqui shares the confidence of her coaches, and is fueled by the disappointment of last postseason.
“I twisted my ankle,” she recalled. “It was really swollen, so I could not go. I was very disappointed. I was really looking to get past regionals and into states. It was a big deal, and I just couldn’t go.”
“It is very important to me. I’m going to work hard again and, hopefully, I’ll get myself up there.
“Right now, there are about one or two girls that are my main competition. I’ve challenged them before. I’ve beaten them sometimes, and sometimes I didn’t. It’s a constant battle.”
Up to the Challenge
Soddiqui, who sports a GPA of 3.6ish and is involved activities like student government and the Muslim Student Association, is also up for Del Val. She plans to major in accounting with a focus on finance.
“I’m most definitely going to wrestle in college, even though it’s going to be different,” she said. “The rules are going to be a little bit different. And, even though it’s not going to be that big of change, I’m going to be a little bit nervous.”
Stabilito has zero doubt that Siddiqui will continue to ascend at Del Val, which she chose largely because of her proximity to home and her close-knit family.
“She is going to be a super good college wrestler,” he said. “Any coach that gets her at the next level is going to be happy with her.”
While continuing to advocate for women in male-dominated sports, Soddiqui also plans to continue being a trendsetter at Del Val by wearing the hijab, not only on campus but while wrestling.
“I was going to wear the hijab after high school without knowing I would continue wrestling in college as well,” she explained. “Once I figured I had an opportunity to do that, I wanted to start a new chapter with it on.”
