Wrestling in India
United States's Kevin Ahearn and Azerbaijan's Eldar Atakishiyev at the 2007 Military World Games held in Hyderabad, India
Governing bodyWrestling Federation of India
National competitions
International competitions

Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in India.[1] Several regional styles and variations in folk wrestling exists in the country. Indian wrestlers have won numerous medals at international competitions in freestyle wrestling.

History Wrestling has been popular in India since ancient times, it was mainly an exercise to stay physically fit. The wrestlers, traditionally, use to wear a loincloth, langota. In Ancient India wrestling was most famously known as Malla-yuddha. One of the premier characters in Mahabharata, Bhima was considered to be a great wrestler of the time, and some of the other great wrestlers included Karna, Jarasandha, Keechaka and Balrama. In the other Indian epic, Ramayana also mentions wrestling in India and Hanuman is described as one of the greatest wrestlers of his time.

During the Mughal rule who were of Turko-Mongol descent, the influence of Iranian and Mongolian wrestling were incorporated to the local Malla-yuddha to form the modern Pehlwani.

Wrestling in India is also known as Dangal, and it is the basic form of a wrestling tournament. It is also called kushti in Punjab and Haryana. The wrestling in Punjab and Haryana will take place in a circular court with soft ground which in Punjabi is called an "akharha". Two wrestlers will continue to wrestle until the back of one touches the ground. The winner will parade the court with the loser following him.[10] The wrestlers are called Pehlwans who train with modern weights and traditional weights such as a Gada (mace). The aim of kushti is to wrestle the opponent and to block the other player.

Regional variants

Sculpture of Greek wrestlers at Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad.

Tournament records

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Total
Olympic Games 0 2 5 7
World Championship 1 5 16 22
Asian Games 11 15 39 65
Asian Championship 24 75 122 221
Commonwealth Games 49 39 26 114
Total85135203423

Notable performances at Summer Olympics

YearEventPlayerResult
1920
Men's freestyle featherweight Randhir Shindes 4th
1948
Men's freestyle flyweight K. D. Jadhav 6th
1952
Men's freestyle bantamweight K. D. Jadhav 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Men's freestyle featherweight Keshav Mangave 4th
1960
Men's freestyle middleweight Madho Singh 5th
Men's freestyle light heavyweight Sajan Singh 7th
1964
Men's freestyle bantamweight Bishambar Singh 6th
1968
Men's freestyle 52 kg Sudesh Kumar 6th
Men's freestyle 70 kg Udey Chand 6th
1972
Men's freestyle 52 kg Sudesh Kumar 4th
Men's freestyle 57 kgPrem Nath 4th
1980
Men's freestyle 68 kg Jagmander Singh 4th
Men's freestyle 48 kg Mahabir Singh 5th
Men's freestyle 74 kgRajinder Singh 6th
1984
Men's freestyle 74 kgRajinder Singh 4th
Men's freestyle 57 kg Rohtas Singh Dahiya 5th
Men's freestyle 52 kg Mahabir Singh 6th
Men's freestyle 48 kgSunil Dutt 7th
Men's freestyle 90 kg Kartar Singh 7th
1992
Men's freestyle 100 kg Subhash Verma 6th
Men's Greco-Roman 48 kgPappu Yadav 8th
2008
Men's freestyle 66 kg Sushil Kumar 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2012
Men's freestyle 66 kg Sushil Kumar 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Men's freestyle 60 kg Yogeshwar Dutt 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2016
Women's freestyle 58 kg Sakshi Malik 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2020
Men's freestyle 57 kg Ravi Kumar Dahiya 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Men's freestyle 65 kg Bajrang Punia 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Men's freestyle 86 kgDeepak Punia 4th

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wrestling in India". Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ↑ S., Priyadershini (27 July 2016). "On the Mat". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

Further reading


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