Training

Equality in wrestling

India: In gentrifying village, any boy can mud wrestle mano a mano

Even as New Delhi's wealth moves in on the village, poor and rich boys find equal opportunity to wrestle in the mud.

By Ben Arnoldy | Staff Writer 10.28.09 

Christian Science Monitor

NAKHROLA, INDIA – Two young boys face off in their underwear, with furrowed brows and bare feet balancing in furrows of fresh-tilled earth.

The spaces for equality in India are small. In this case, several thousand square feet of dirt in a farm field. Here, the boys of Nakhrola ages 6 to 25 can compete mano a mano in wrestling matches.

“Village children don’t have exposure to other sports activities. This is the only one that anyone [from] any financial background can play,” says Surya Dev Yadav, a local lawyer and wrestling referee. “It just depends on the personal effort they put in.”

Such a straightforward formula for success isn’t always clear for the adults in Nakhrola, a village upended by dizzying changes. The nearby capital of Delhi is pushing out into Nakhrola. The government is buying land to create industrial parks, and commuters working for multinational firms in the high-rise towers of Gurgaon are moving in. Prices have shot up for land and for daily essentials, creating overnight winners and losers.

“There are people who sell land for 32 crores [$6.8 million], and there are people who don’t have any land to sell,” says Om Prakash, a local bank worker. Even with the wealth of some, the school has no infrastructure for sports – not even a basic gymnasium for wrestling, according to Mr. Yadav. Instead, a tractor is used to soften up a field, and the boys get down in the dirt.

The sport’s simplicity makes it one of the few where many schools can compete against one another, with state and national tournaments, too.

Sushil, Ramesh star draws at Bhagat Singh wrestling tourney

Times of India

JALANDHAR: Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar and World Championship bronze-winner Ramesh Kumar will be the star attractions at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Wrestling Tournament starting on October 30.

Wrestlers from several countries including Australia, Iran, England, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan would participate in the event, Organising Secretary of the tournament Kartar Singh told reporters on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would inaugurate the tournament on October 30.

The tournament is being jointly organised by the Wrestling Federation of India, Punjab Wrestling Association and Punjab Armed Police, Singh said.

The prize money of Rs 30 lakh would be distributed among the medallists of the tournament, which would be directly telecast on Doordarshan, he added.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh Intl Wrestling tournament from Friday

Zeenews.com

Updated on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 19:07 IST Jalandhar: Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Wrestling Tournament would be held here at the PAP Indoor stadium from October 30 to November 1.

Wrestlers from several countries including Australia, Iran, England, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan apart from host India would be participating in the event.

Former India wrestler Kartar Singh would be the Organising Secretary of the tournament.

The event will carry a total prize money of Rs 30 lakh and would be directly telecast on national broadcaster Doordarshan.

Wrestling Match At Kheri Pul, Old Faridabad

By FaridabadMetro News Service

Faridabad, Sunday, October 18, 2009: A wrestling competition was held today at Kheri Pul in the Mangal Bazar Ground on Tigaon Road in Old Faridabad. Thousands of people were assembled to see the wrestling held on the occasion of Govardhan Pooja Mahotsav. The Congress candidate Anand Kaushik was present at the event along with Vijay Pratap, Kishan Thakur, Sheesh Pal Thakur, Vikas Thakur, Chhidda Thakur, Surender Kaushik and many other important Faridabad personalities.

Latest Faridabad News brought to you first by FaridabadMetro.com

Kushti Wrestling Dangal Match 7 - Final

Desi Kushti

Wrestling competition organised

State Times, Jammu 

SAMBA--18th Oct.: A wrestling competition was organised by Baba Santokh Nath Ji Committee at Smailpur. It is a traditional Dangal being organised from the very first day after the independence of India. Surjeet Singh Slathia, Minister for Industries and Commerce was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Wrestlers from different states participated in the competition. A large number of gathering witnessed the Dangal. The winner was Benia from Ram Nagar, Jammu, second was Cherry from Jalandhar, Punjab and the third was Happy from Delhi. The winners were awarded Badi Malli of Rs 2,5000, Doulad Malli of Rs 18,000 and third one of Rs 10,000 respectively.

Kushti Wrestling Dangal Match 7 Part 2

Wrestling at festival in Punjab

EVERY YEAR IN THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH OF JUNE SPORTS TOURNAMENT IS ORGANISED BY THE " BABA DASSA JI YOUTH CLUB (Regd.) " AND ON THE LAST MONDAY THERE IS MELA AT THE GURUDWARA SAHIB BABA DASSA JI AND WRESTLING (SHINJ) SAME EVENING AT VILLAGE SALEMPUR MASSANDAN.....

KOTA MELA DUSSHERA-2009

Blog dedicated to Rashtriya Mela Dusshera 2009 organised from 14 Sept. to 14 Oct 2009

In cemetery, grapplers fight to keep sport alive

Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Irshaad Khaleefa imparts training to budding grapplers at an ‘akhara’ in the Idgah cemetery, Roorkee. Photo by writer

Roorkee, September 18
 
To keep ‘mallyudh’ (mud wrestling) alive, the oldest traditional sport of the country, a group of local wrestlers are pitched against all odds here.

Struggling against the paucity of funds in the absence of any financial and other logistic support, these wrestlers have carved out a small ‘akhara’ for themselves in a local cemetery.

The ‘akhara’, set up by Irshaad Khaleefa, a former wrestler of the area around 25 years back, has become an assembly point for these wrestlers.

Most of them hail from downtrodden sections of society and are involved in menial jobs. Some of them are small-time hawkers selling fruits and vegetables while some work as labourers.

The wrestlers, who are 35 to 40 in number, lie in the age group of 12 to 35 years. It is their love for the sport that has enabled them to overcome all shortcomings, rekindling hopes of revival of ‘mallyudh’, which, otherwise, was on the verge of extinction in the region.

Irshaad Khaleefa, who imparts training to budding wrestlers every evening, claimed that despite all odds, the ‘akhara’ has produced many renowned wrestlers like Dilshaad Chandosi and Shamsher Chandosi.

On problems being faced by budding grapplers, Irshaad Khaleefa lamented no one was ready to help them.

“The organisation of sport activities in a cemetery is enough to tell the sorry state of affairs. The authorities here talk big but do nothing,” rued Khaleefa.

He added that they had approached government authorities for financial help many times but in vain.

“The utmost requirement of a wrestler is proper nutrition but as most of my disciples belong to poor families, they do not get a proper diet. Due to my limited resources, I am unable to help them in this regard,” said Khaleefa.

He added that whatever the wrestlers earn from their menial jobs and local wrestling bouts, they spend it on building their physique.

“Earlier, ‘dangals’ (mud-wrestling bouts) used to be organised during every festival. This was the main source of income for wrestlers.

“With drastic reduction in the number of ‘dangals’ in the region, the wrestling scenario has totally changed of late,” said the coach.

The ‘khaleefa’ (guru) maintained that though cricket has overshadowed all sports in the country, people in this rural area still love ‘mallyudh’. “In the ‘dangal’ on Id every year, over 20,000 persons gather at our akhara,” he said.

“If the government or social organisations come forward to help wrestlers here, they can touch new heights,” said Khaleefa maintaining that sports is a good way to keep the youth away from drugs and crime.

Benia lifts Bhamag Kesari title

Daily Excelsior

Pahalwan Benia posing for a photograph after winning the Bhamag Kesari title.

JAMMU, May 17: Pahalwan Benia defeated Ahmad Ali in a tough bout to lift 11th Annual Bhamag Kesari Dangal.

He was awarded with a cash prize of Rs 1500 alongwith traditional Silver Gurj, Patta and gold medal while pahalwan Amjad Ali pocketed a sum of Rs 1,100.

In other bouts, Sonu beat Kuldeep while the bout between Kalu and Abdul Rashid ended in a tie.

Total 37 bouts were played. The dangal was organised by the J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association under the supervision of its president Shiv Kumar Sharma.

IGP (Retd) SS Bijral was the chief guest on the occasion while Shiv Kumar Sharma presided over.

Subash Chander Dogra and Manager of J&K Bank, Panchari were the guests of honour.

Hitesh wins Rustum-i-Hind title

Northlines
9/23/2009

Jammu, Sept 22 : Team of Indian wrestlers overpowered their Pakistani counterparts to win the prestigious title of Rustum-i-Indo Pak dangal organised under the banner of ‘Mission Dosti’ tournament in Katra on Tuesday evening.

After witnessing three straight fights the jam packed Vivekananda stadium here in Katra came to life when Indian wrestler Hitesh Yadav matted his Pakistani counterpart Md Bashir of Sialkote to win the title.

MLA Reasi, Baldev Sharma, DC Reasi PK Pole and President of Indian style wrestling Association (Jammu and Kashmir) Shiv Kumar Sharma were among those present on the occasion along with senior district and police officers.

Out of a total number of four matches the Pakistani wrestler Mohd Ali won the first battle. He was cheered by large number of local people as he crushed his Indian counterpart.

The second match was won by an Indian wrestler while Pakistani wrestler Abdul Rehman was declared retired hurt in the third match.

The fourth and the final title match was won by Hitesh Yadav. The Pakistani player Md Bashir was not happy with the decisions taken by the match umpire and expressed his unhappiness after he lost the match.

The title was awarded to Hitesh Yadav by MLA Reasi Baldev Sharma in the absence of minister of Sports. The winner of the title was handed over a cash prize of Rs 51,000 and a silver memento. Several hundred local residents and huge rush of pilgrims witnessed the wrestling tournament.

The President of Jammu Kashmir Indian style wrestling association Shiv Kumar Sharma said," the aim behind organising Mission Dosti tournament is to promote sporting ties between India and Pakistan..

Sharma said the event is gaining popularity with each year and has become one of the favorite events for the organisers of the nine day long Navratra festival. He said players from both the countries should be allowed to frequently travel across the border to play tournaments to promote sporting ties.

Soni declared best wrestler

Nalwari Fair

Tribune, Chandigarh

Bilaspur, March 23
The seven-day state-level Nalwari fair concluded here late this evening. Soni of Ludhiana was declared the best wrestler of the five centuries old wrestling bouts of Nalwadi mela as he downed Inder Singh of Laliyan-Garh Shankar in the final bout here at the Luhnu Ground.

Both wrestlers grappled for about 45 minutes after repeated extensions of time and then the jury decided in favour Soni as he succeeded in giving a “downing” to his rival Inder Singh.

Chief guest Ashwini Kapoor, Divisional Commissioner Mandi Zone, gave away cash prize of Rs 51,000 to Soni and the silver mace of “Malli” called Bhim Gada while Inder Singh got a cash prize of Rs 31,000.

Kamaljit of Ropar was declared third and awarded Rs 15,000.

Earlier, Gaurav Rana of Una was declared “Himachal Kumar” (the best Himachal wrestler up to 21 years in the state) and was given a cash prize of Rs 21,000 and silver mace called Abhimanyu Gada. He defeated Mukesh of Kangra.

Some 500 renowned wrestlers drawn from 12 states participated in the wrestling bouts.

Sunday Fight

By Alokparna Das, ExpressIndia

Even though the number of akharas in Delhi has come down from 100 to 15 in the past 30 years but both budding and established wrestlers participate regularly at the Urdu Park dangal

The Sunday market on Netaji Subhash Chandra Marg is abuzz with activity. Right from the bookshops on Daryaganj’s pavements till the makeshift shacks selling woolens opposite the Red Fort, the place is teeming with people. Squeezing my way through this road I head towards the historic Urdu Park at the traffic intersection.

Inside the park, hundreds of men are sitting in a circle waiting for action to begin. It’s 4 p.m. In the middle, on a sand enclosure, a referee announces on the mike that the show is about to begin. Soon, it’s a believe it or not situation, as at least 50-60 boys and men, all pehelwan or kushtigeers, are ready to jump into the fray to test their skills. The dangal starts, with pehelwans aged between 12 and 22 waiting for their turn. The first kushti is between two teenaged boys. The winner gets Rs 10 and the loser a consolation prize of Rs 5 from one of the organisers.

READ MORE

Kushti Wrestling Dangal Match 7 Part 1

Only wrestlers to guard this Ganpati temple

ExpressIndia

Pune Ramdas Gopal Navghare of Khanapur looks just another well-built security guard at the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple in the city. But there’s more to this tall and sturdy guard in khaki fatigues. He is one of the 60 professional wrestlers who make up the security system at this place of worship.

“All the guards here are professional wrestlers. We are on temple duty after working out at the taleem (wrestling school.) Our salaries help us meet our dietary requirements. More than that, there is an element of devotion attached to our job. We safeguard the things here and also pay our respects to the lord everyday,” says Navghare.

Fellow guard Ganesh Darvatkar, also from Khanapur, reveals that though government-owned wrestling schools or taleems help them build their muscles free of cost, they need a heavy, nutritional diet to maintain their physique. “We are able to maintain our physique through supplementary diets that we manage to get from our salaries. Not only this, we also send money to our families back home,” he adds.

The employment of wrestlers as temple guards is a continuation of tradition. Mahesh Suryavanshi, a trustee of Dagdusheth Halwai Trust, reveals that Dagdusheth Halwai, after whom the temple is named, was himself a wrestler. “So it was both as a tribute to him and for maintaining the security of the place that the Trust came up with the idea of having wrestlers as security guards. The Dagdusheth Trust’s security comprises these 60 wrestlers. The guards work in eight-hour shifts. Each shift has 20 persons. During the 10-day Ganpati festival we increase security personnel to 200,” says Suryavanshi.

While there are youngsters like Chetan Adhvate, Kishore Gaikwad and Chetan Liman, who have made it to the national level body building championships, there are also senior wrestlers, like Dilip Bari, who feel that at the end of the day, work here is not about money alone.

Keeping a traditional sport alive

The Hindu

Mud wrestling competition attracts over 100 partipants

For an upperhand: Participants involved in mud wrestling at Pavanje.

MANGALORE: 55-year-old Mohan gave it his best shot when he faced 17-year-old Karthik at a mud wrestling competition at Pavanje, near here, on Sunday. The two were battling it out under the 50-kg category. However, ultimately, Mr. Mohan had to concede defeat to Mr. Karthik.

Agoli Manjanna Janapada Kendra in association with the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Kusthi Sangha had organised the competition to keep this traditional rural sport alive.

More than 120 wrestlers from Dakshina Kannda and Udupi districts fought it out in 10 categories on two fields, Koti and Chennayya, for the titles of the same name.

President of Alva’s Education Foundation Mohan Alva inaugurated the competition. This was followed by the ritual of breaking a coconut and performing a pooja to a heap of mud on the field. Former wrestlers Krishnappa Mendon, Keshav Salina, Sankappa Shetty, Sundar Karkera and Bhojrao were felicitated on the occasion.

Speaking to presspersons on the occasion, president of the kendra Ganesh Amin Sankumar said that mud wrestling was developed at an early stage and it was intended to display the male’s power.

Restoration of garadis enthuses wrestlers

By Shankar Bennur 
The Hindu

Two of Mysore’s oldest garadis are being restored and will be ready in a few days

LIFELINE: A file picture of one of the dilapidated ‘garadis’ in Mysore. MYSORE: The rustic wrestlers of Mysore are giving a beaming and confident smile. Their long-cherished wish of seeing “garadis” (wrestling gymnasiums) restored for posterity is being fulfilled with the launch of restoration of the city’s two oldest garadis.

The restoration of Srinivasannana Garadi at Benki Nawab Road, which is said to be 175 years old, and Hattujanara Garadi at Ittigegud, which is believed to have completed 150 years, is under way.

The new-look garadis would be opened soon to facilitate training for the Dasara events.

This city once boasted 250 garadis. Today they are languishing and some are on the throes of closure.

On seeing the dilapidated condition of these garadis, the Dasara Committee on Wrestling headed by the Superintendent of Police Rama Subba, drew up an action plan to revive these gymnasiums to keep the wrestling tradition alive.

Although “Nada Kusti” bouts, the traditional form of wrestling that was patronised diligently during the reign of the Mysore rulers, are organised as part of Dasara festivities, the authorities, responding to the grievances of “pehalwans” in recent years, are making efforts to revive the sport and the infrastructure that supports the ancient sport.

As promised last year, the renovation of two garadis was launched recently and the work is going on at a brisk pace. “The work will get over in a few days. Wrestlers can practise for Dasara. We raised funds through sponsors,” said Mr. Rama Subba.

He told The Hindu that Rs. 1.5 lakh was being spent on the renovation and two garadis would be renovated every year to keep the wrestling tradition intact.

“We have identified about 10 garadis that need immediate restoration. We shall request industrialists, business houses and philanthropists to help revive the tradition,” he said.

He said the restoration of garadis would be taken up in phases based on the availability of funds. “I am happy that a sincere attempt is being made to revive the sporting tradition and restore garadis,” said pehalwan Paramesh.

Nada Kusti bouts were confined to Mysore Dasara as they were organised once in a year during the festivities. This demoralised the budding wrestlers who demanded more bouts to revive the tradition.

The rusticity of Nada Kusti had inspired many youngsters of the old Mysore region to embrace the tradition with great enthusiasm. But, in the absence of patronage, the tradition was on the wane.

To overcome this, the committee introduced bouts every month from February to encourage the sport. Bouts are featured once or twice a month.

The Dasara Sub-committee on Wrestling, which oversees wrestling matches at D. Devaraj Urs Multipurpose Stadium on Doddakere maidan during the festivities, brought truce between wrestling associations and launched Nada Kusti round the year.

Nada Kusti was popularised by the royal family of Mysore and was a favourite sport among the people. Besides Nada Kusti, the people also get a chance to witness another form of wrestling, Vajra Musthi, which is organised on the palace premises.

Meanwhile, wrestling groups have suggested establishing a permanent fund so that the efforts to revive the wrestling tradition did not suffer because of scarcity of funds.

“The permanent fund should help even the ailing wrestlers,” the wrestlers said.

Wrestlers of Mysore by Nitin Vishwas

By Nitin Vishwas

More Photos here

Traditional Indian wrestling or “kusti” as it is popularly known around the country enjoyed many patrons in the State of Mysore. The wrestlers are known as "pehelwans" and usually start at a very early age.
This city today has just about 50 such wrestling houses or “garadis” in the city, a sharp decline from over 100 in the past. This wrestling house in particular was over 100 years old, neatly tucked away in the heart of the old city.
Most of these garadis have common aesthetic charm in the way it was built. A shady pipal tree, a small portico for practice and a well are the signature features of any akhada or garadi. Earth, Air, water and trees form the soul of the garadi. The walls of the garadi are decorated with the bold, colorful paintings of Lord Hanuman, Garuda and other dramatic scenes from Hindu mythology. The garadi is essentially a shrine dedicated to Lord Hanuman or Anjaneya. He is looked upon the as the God of Courage and Physical Strength. (Ref: Raghuram Ashok from flickr)
The best time to attend some of these wrestling matches is during the festival of Dussehera, in the month of October. These are usually held near the Exhibition Ground in front of the famous Mysore Palace.

dangal wrestling match 6

In Mumbai, Wrestling to Be a Cop

Games Governments Play

While thousands are being evicted for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, ANIL VARGHESE looks at the lives of those uprooted, and abandoned, for the 1982 Asiad

An iron will: Evicted wrestling guru Bisamber's akhada thrives despite government apathy Photos: Trilochan S. Kalra

THOUSAND DAYS to go for Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010,’ say the hoardings. The capital is counting down to its biggest event in recent times. But not everyone is sharing in the excitement. There are many in the city for whom the event marks an uncertain future, who are counting down to the day their houses will be demolished and their livelihoods destroyed. And to understand their concerns fully, one must go back to 1982, when Delhi played host to another big sporting event, the ninth Asian Games.

November 19, 1982: the day the Games started in Delhi. Jagmohan Malhotra, the controversial Lieutenant Governor of Delhi in the early 80s, reminisces: “We were barely given two years to prepare. We had only one facility, the National Stadium near India Gate and even that was awaiting renovation.” Malhotra played a pivotal role in making the Games a success. Prior to assuming the Governor’s office, he also served as the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) during the years of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi.

the Emergency could be felt on the streets as slum clusters all over the city were demolished and some 1.75 lakh families were resettled on the outskirts over the next couple of years. Each family then was supposed to be assigned a plot of land, usually 25 square yards. “These slums were encroaching on the streets. Their residents were in the grip of local MPs and MLAs, with proliferating slums enhancing their vote banks. The idea was to release these people from their control, give them some land to invest in a house for themselves,’ is how Malhotra explains the demolitions. As the city was being readied for the Games in the early 80s, he remembers Indira Gandhi commenting that work on the sites could proceed unhindered thanks to the slums being removed in 1975.

Not every one agrees with Malhotra’s version of the events. Dunu Roy, Director of the Delhi-based Hazards Centre and an authority on issues surrounding the Games, says that India had bid for the Games in 1974 and therefore the sprucing up of the city for this purpose effectively began then. Sports historian Boria Majumdar, in his forthcoming book, Olympics: The India Story, writes, “The Asian Games Federation awarded New Delhi the ninth Asian Games in 1976.” Majumdar says the groundwork for the games could possibly have been carried out earlier than 1976. Though this would only be conjecture, it’s one with some serious implications.

While that debate might remain unresolved, there are many in the city, like Surat Ram and Guru Bisamber of the Dakshinpuri Jhuggi-Jhopri Colony of south Delhi, who paid for the Games early on. Born in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, Bisamber had been living in the jhuggis of Talkatora Garden for more than a decade when the DDA knocked on his doors. Bisamber, already a well-known wrestling guru then, and earning his living as a driver, has painful memories from the time when the DDA trucks dumped him and his family in their assigned plot in Dakshinpuri.

“In this area where tall grasses (bajra) stretched for miles, we found ourselves in knee-deep water. It kept raining for over a fortnight. We had to leave our kids with our relatives,” recalls Bisamber. For the first few years before the bus services connected his colony to the city, he had to cycle nearly two hours to get to work. “It was not very safe here. People from the surrounding villages used to rob us of what little we earned. New and fewer in number, we were not in a position to fight them.” It took Bisamber and his peers over a decade to have a roof over their heads. Until then they lived in tents.

Bisamber was made to part with his home but not his passion: wrestling. At Talkatora, where later an indoor stadium proudly stood as one of the venues of the Games, Bisamber used to run his own akhada (wrestling school). Earlier, he had been a student of the famous late Guru Munni Lal at his now 175-year-old akhada in Panchkuian road. Six months into his stay in Dakshinpuri, the authorities did provide a plot of land for an akhada for the colony — what was to be the only semblance of government patronage over the next three decades.

WHEN THE Games finally came, Bisamber watched from the stands as the Soviets thrashed Indian wrestlers. He was not really surprised; he knew only too well that wrestlers here spend more time wrestling with the government than with fellow wrestlers. While Malhotra sought to free the slum dwellers from the grip of the local politicians, Bisamber found himself at the mercy of just another politician. The local MLA Chaudhari Prem Singh has not lost his seat for decades. Prem Singh looked the other way, probably celebrated the Asiad coming to Delhi, while Bisamber scrounged to maintain the ring, purchase equipment and sought to provide his 50-odd boys with the ‘wrestling diet’. Yet, he’s proud of the fact that, fighting all odds, great wrestlers were born here, and several made it to the Nationals.

The Dakshinpuri akhada does not lack for the one thing that has kept it alive all these years — Bisamber’s passion for the sport. “A lot of time went into training the boys as they started pouring in, some even from outside the city, who had to be housed in the two rooms I had built inside the akhada. I had more than 90-absentee days at work and was fired,” remembers Bisamber. Then the battle just got tougher. His wife started working as domestic help to sustain the household. His sons, who hardly ever stepped onto the akhada, joined the treadmill of life, assisting their mother in her work even before they had finished school. Bisamber ran a dairy outlet for sometime, married off his daughters. Now 76 years old, with his sons having taken over the reins of the family, he continues to wrestle in and for the ring. Every evening, he is at his run-down akhada to oversee his boys train.

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Bhalla declares open Wrestling Competition at Deoinia

State Times news service
R S PURA
10th Oct: Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla on Saturday evening opened a Wrestling Competition at Deoinia in RS Pura. The competitions were organised by President Dangal Committee, Ashok Singh Salaria. Thousands of wrestlers from Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Paradesh, Jammu and Kashmir participated. Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla said that such type of events promote the taste of the youth towards sports and games which in turn promotes brotherhood and communal harmony. He appealed to the younger generation to join the wrestling competitions. He said that wrestling competitions cure the mental ailments as almost everybody is engulfed in tension, stress, anxiety, migraine, depression, hypertension, phobia which can easily maintained. He said that those people who joined wrestling classes are definitely free from all types of diseases and improves the way of life at mental level also. He said that wrestling changes the tendencies and modification of mind of wrestlers. He further said that the objective of the function is to educate the common masses how to live their natural life.

Dangal match 5

Kusti Mangalore - photos by Ashit Desai

More photos on Ashit Desai's Flickr page

Training in Kolhapur

Rakshabandhan Pankha Mela Dangal At Old Faridabad

Faridabad Metro
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Faridabad: The Pankha Mela on Rakshabandhan every year has three parts to it. The first is the Tableau and Band parade which happens on the Rakshabandhan day. the second part is the Dangal where the wrestlers from Faridabad District wrestle to be the Number 1 wrestlers of and the last part is the Nautanki that will take place tonight in Old Faridabad.
The Dangal had many wrestlers showing their prowess at the Talab Road at Old Faridabad in the afternoon today.

Wrestling Tournament At Tigaon, Faridabad

Faridabad Metro

Friday, July 24, 2009
Faridabad: On the occasion of Hariyali Teej a wrestling competition was organized at Tigaon Village in Faridabad District. While the wrestlers demonstrated their skills the chief guest was Faridabad M. P. Avtar Singh Bhadana . Many Faridabad personalities were present at the venue. Some of the present were JP Nagar, Lalit Nagar, Yashpal Nagar, Jagat Singh Nagar, Rajesh Tanwar, Bijender Singh Mavi amongst a huge crowd gathered at the venue to watch wrestling.

Wrestling Matches At Old Faridabad

Faridabad Metro
By Shikha Raghav

Faridabad, Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Navyug Youth Club in Faridabad held wrestling tournament at Barahi Talab Park in Old Faridabad. Praveen Kumar, the actor who played Bhim in Mahabharat serial, attended the event and very keenly observed the wrestlers giving a tough fight to his opponents.
Indian National Congress candidate from Faridabad City Anand Kaushik was the chief guest and many senior leaders like Lakhan Kumar Singla, Sant Gopal, Toni Pahalwan, Laxman Pahalwan, Basant Virmani attended the show along with a huge crowd that enjoyed the wrestling and also the special Body Building Show with patriotic songs being played in the background will be held during the program.

Local cops emerge champs at state wrestling tourney

Times of Navi Mumbai
June 14, 2009
B B Nayak

Nerul: Two cops from Navi Mumbai police force knocked down their closest rivals in wrestling bastion Kolhapur to win titles in their respective groups at the just concluded state level wrestling competition. The second edition of the state level contest was organized by Nerul-basedsports outfit Samrat Sports Academy at Ramleela grounds, near Sarsole bus depot, Nerul.

getting a grip: City wrestler duo Atul Jagtap and Shashikant Lokhande emerged as champions in their respective groups

Navi Mumbai wrestler duo Atul Jagtap and Shashikant Lokhande from city police had put forth a stellar performance against their tough contenders to bag crowns in different groups. The surging local wrestling buffs that turned up to root for the grapplers were treated with some fine techniques, throws, locks and knock downs.
On their win, the victorious duo was encouraged by their boss Gulabrao Pol, city police commissioner, who made his presence felt at the closing ceremony of the show. Both local champions received pats on their back for doing the city policemen proud  and emerged as group champions.
Many Shivchhatrapati and Arjuna awardees in varied sports disciplines were present to motivate the grapplers at state level wrestling competition. The tourney  had over a hundred amateur and professional grapplers from across the state vying for elite spots. 

 Those present on the occasion were sports administrators Bal Wadawalikar (wrestling) and Jaya Shetty (kabaddi) besides Navi Mumbai police commissioner Gulabrao Pol among others.
The wrestlers from Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Mumbai, Solapur and Thane regaled the crowd with their muscle strength and grappling tricks on the makeshift clay-filled fighting arena. The winners in different categories included Rajendra Rajmane (Atpadi), Badam Magdum (Kolhapur), Sunil Mohite (Kolhapur), Amol Kashid (Mumbai), Rajendra Sutar (Atpadi), Sanjay Jadhav (Sondli), Atul Jagtap and Shashikant Lokhande (Navi Mumbai Police), Manoj Achre (Sondli), Pratap Patil (Kotoli).
For the championship bout, Kolhapur wrestler Kantilal Jadhav and Atpadi grappler Ravindra Gaikwad were supposed to lock horns. But Kolhapur wrestler Kantilal  called it a day for the coveted title due to severe injury he sustained during an earlier bout. As a result, Ravindra was declared as the champion  on merit as he performed well in all the rounds he fought.
 
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District Reasi Wrestling Championship held

The Northlines
10/5/2009 12:11:39 AM

JAMMU, Oct 04: Second District Reasi Wrestling Championship, organised by J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association concluded at Kund Khadyari, Pouni in district Reasi.
President of the Association, Shiv Kumar Sharma was chief guest, who gave away medals and certificates to winners of different weight categories. Among others present were district president, Rash Paul Singh, general secretary, Rakesh Khajuria, NIS coach Mulkh Raj Sharma and joint secretary, Sanjeev Kumar.
In all, 68 wrestlers from Reasi, Pouni, Dadoa, Godar, Laiter and Ransoo took part in the championship, which was sponsored by J&K State Sports Council.
The Final Results: 30 kg: Ajay Kumar, Ist and Sunil Kumar, 2nd. 34 kg: Rinku Sharma, Ist and Balwinder Singh, 2nd. 38 Kg: Ajay Kumar, Ist and Joginder Singh, 2nd. 42 kg: Rakesh Kumar, Ist and Ajit Sharma of Ransoo, 2nd. 46 kg: Rakesh Kumar, Ist and Makhan Singh, 2nd. 50 kg: Kuldeep Singh, Ist position and Baldev Singh, 2nd. 55 Kg: Joginder Kumar, Ist and Shakil Ahamed, 2nd. 65 Kg: Sanjay Kumar, 1st position and Sham Lal, 2nd

dangal match 4

Warm response cheers Pak wrestlers

 

Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service

Katra, September 29
Even though Pakistani wrestlers lost the “Mission Dosti” contest, they are not a disappointed lot. Reason: The warm response that was accorded to them by people of Katra in particular and devotees from all over India in general.

“I cannot describe in words the affection and love given to us. It was beyond expectation,” said Khawaja Flahudin Naik, assistant coach of the Pakistani team while leaving Katra.

He said it was high time that people from both nations came forward and strengthened mutual ties notwithstanding other factors.

“How long can politicians from both the countries snub the emotions of people?” he questioned while pointing out similarities between the culture of Lahore and Jammu.

“Katra was like home for me, as the dress, culture and language are almost the same”, he observed.

Echoing similar sentiments, Mohammad Ali, the only Pakistani wrestler who won his bout, recollected how spectators cheered him when he defeated his Indian rival Naresh Kumar. “At one time, I could not fathom whether I was at home or outside,” he said.

The coach of the Pakistani team Mohammad Shafiq opined that such events should be held on a regular basis. “We share a common culture and heritage, therefore we should use these events to strengthen mutual ties,” he said.

International wrestling tourney in Punjab

The Tribune


Ravi Dhaliwal

Bathinda, October 5
The Wrestling Federation of India (IWF) will be organising an international prize money tournament - the first of its kind in Punjab - at Jalandhar from October 30 to November 1. Confirming this, Kartar Singh, Secretary General of the IWF, said that all big names from top wrestling nations will be taking part in the three day sporting extravaganza. The tournament is being held in memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Kartar added that grapplers from 11 countries, including those from Canada, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have been invited for the meet. A significant feature of the tourney is that the organisers have also invited two teams from Pakistan. Apart from this the Indians will be fielding four teams each in the men’s and women categories.

Countries like Uzbekistan, Canada and Kazakhstan will be fielding wrestlers who took part in the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Olympics while India’s challenge will be spearheaded by Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar.

Kartar added that Olympic wrestlers of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan had a hectic schedule and despite this, both countries will be sending their top grapplers in all weight categories. Kartar said that wrestlers from Nigeria, Wales, England and Chinese Taipie have also confirmed their presence in the meet.

He added that a proper invitation had been sent to the Chinese who, however, have declined to send their grapplers. The tournament carries a total prize money of Rs 30 lakhs. Wrestlers standing first in their respective weight categories will be handed over $ 2000 each while those standing second will be given $1000 each. Grapplers finishing third in their respective weight categories will be given $500each.

The organisers will be paying for the transportation, boarding and lodging of all the foreign players. All the four Indian teams in both the men and women categories will be selected on the basis of the forthcoming senior national wrestling championship slated to be held in Bhopal.

dangal match 3

dangal match 2

New kushti youtube page

Sunday Wrestling show losing sheen

Vishal Thakur
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 15
The Sunday Wrestling show that occupied an important place among sport activities in Dehradun during the past 50 years is slowly losing its charm. For five decades, wrestling in the city has been held under the aegis of ‘Akhara Sheran Samiti’.

Wrestlers from far-off places in Uttar Pradesh like Meerut and Muzaffarnagar and from regiments in the military like the Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment and Dogra Regiment added to the charm of these wrestling bouts and drew capacity crowds to Parade Ground, the venue of the bouts.

“A capacity crowd of 5,000 people used to come to the Parade Ground to enjoy the wrestling matches irrespective of the scorching sun or pouring rain,” said Mahaveer Sharma, president of ‘Akhara Sheran Samiti’ since 1980 and the man behind the event.

Even the famous Indian wrestler, Chandagi Ram, had once visited Dehradun to witness these bouts. Wrestling in Dehradun began immediately after attaining freedom. For the initial three years, it was organised at Race Course but was later shifted to Parade Ground.

After the formation of the state, the popularity of Sunday Wrestling has dwindled significantly because of the absence of army wrestlers who have stopped participating after Dehradun was made the capital. The craze for wrestling is not over in the nearby areas like Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. But the samiti has not been able to organise matches on a regular basis.

“For the past three weeks, our show at Parade Ground has been disturbed. The ground has become the central place for election rallies and discourses,” added Mahaveer Sharma.

“If you want a reputed wrestler to participate, you need to spend a good sum of money which we cannot afford,” said Mahaveer, who has been seeking financial assistance from various organisations but to no avail. There is no entry fee for the tournament.

Dangal in Himchal Pradesh

New Kushti Youtube Page

Baba Peer Monga wrestling championship

Jammu,September 12, (Scoop News) - Kamaljit Singh form Dharamsal Punjab lifted the Baba Peer Monga wrestling championship at Satrain in R S Pura.
The Minister for Sports, Medical and Higher Education, R S Chib who was the chief guest on the valedictory function of the wrestling championship handed over the key of Motorcycle to the winter of the championship today evening.
As many as 100 bouts were fought and the main bout was fought between Kamaljit Singh from Punjab and Golu Pahalwan from Chandigrah who was declared as runner up and was awarded Rs.15, 000/- by the Minister.
Earlier, Chib paid obeisance at the dargah of the Baba Peer Monga and prayed for the welfare of the people of the state.
It is worth mentioning here that the tournament is being organized by the Chibhal Biradari in memory of Peer Monga Nath at Tohana Tibba, R. S. Pura every year. Peer Monga Nath belong to Deva-Watala (now is PoK) tehsil Bhimber, district Mirpur and he was a saintly figure revered by both the Hindus and Muslims. He was a symbol of secularism among all the religions and sections of the society in that area.
Earlier, before 1947 this Tournament used to be held at Watala (now in PoK) in which the wrestlers from undivided Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir used to participate.
This is a classic example of rural sports festival which is being celebrated and enjoyed by the thousands of people and at least 50,000 people participate every year.
The expenditure on this tournament is borne by the Chibhal Biradari since they have got lot of faith in the policies of Peer Monga Nath. A large number of people come forward and they donate money, clothes, utensils and other things on the name of Peer Monga Nath.
Speaking on the occasion, Chib said that such events promote the taste of the youth towards sports and games which in turn promotes brotherhood and communal harmony. He also announced a stadium at village Satrian will be constructed shortly to provide platform to the sports lovers to carry on their activities throughout the year.
The Minister was accorded warm reception by the wrestling committee members and a large number of people on the occasion.
Chib also felicitated Dushyant Sharma, an international wrestling personality and Bachan Singh Kala on the occasion.
MLA, Suchetgarh, Ch Sham Lal was also present on the occasion.

Roshan lifts Pallanwala Kesari Title

State Times, Jammu
ST News Service

JAMMU--1st Oct.: Pahalwan Roshan of Muthi, Jammu lifted the 12th Pallanwala Kesri title by defeating Pahalwan Hoshiar of Punjab in a tough and interesting bout at Government Higher Secondary School ground Pallanwala.
The winner Pahalwan was awarded a traditional award (Malli) and a cash prize where as the runners up Pahalwan was also given a cash prize.
A total of 40 bouts were fought in the mega Dangal conducted under the supervision of technical officials from the J and K State Youth Services and Sports Department. The Dangal which is an annual feature in the remote border village of Pallanwalla was organised by Pallanwala Dangal Committee on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra.
On the occasion, old wrestlers of the adjoining areas were also honoured and presented a Pagri and a shawl. Sudershan Kumar, KAS who hails from this remote border village and is a founder member of the organising committee, was the Chief Guest.

Punjab awards

THE PUNJAB GOVERNOR AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, GENERAL RETD. DR. S.F. RODRIGUES, PVSM VSM WITH THE PLAYERS AT THE INAUGURATION OF 106TH ANNUAL RURAL WRESTLING COMPETITION AT VILLAGE KHUDA ALI SHER UT CHANDIGARH ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 14,2009.



THE PUNJAB GOVERNOR AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, GENERAL RETD. DR. S.F. RODRIGUES, PVSM VSM PRESENTING MEDAL TO A WRESTLER AT 106TH ANNUAL RURAL WRESTLING COMPETITION AT VILLAGE KHUDA ALI SHER UT CHANDIGARH ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 14,2009.