Wrestling in crisis as popularity declines
Even as the holy city has produced several national and a few international wrestlers in the past, it has not been able to give world-class grapplers in the last some decades.
Veterans blame misplaced priorities of the government and people behind the downfall of wrestling. Youngsters prefer pumping iron in air-conditioned gyms and consuming synthetic protein, rather than slogging it out in the ring, they claim. A wrestler’s daily diet costs over Rs 1,000. As most wrestlers cannot afford the expenditure, the government needs to chip in.
Earlier, there were over 25 ‘akhadas’ in the city where hundreds of budding wrestlers used to practice in morning and evening. Barely 10 ‘akhadas’ are functional now. The number of trainee wrestlers is also on the decline.
Former international wrestler Vikram Sharma and district wrestling coach Karan said 100 youngsters above six years of age daily practice at the district wrestling stadium. The stadium has one hall, which has two international level mats, and two ‘akhadas’. Among the trainees, there are two international-level players, including Karanjit Singh and Sahil, and 30 national-level players. A 12m by 12m mat can accommodate 25 to 30 players for training at a time.
In their formative years, kids are trained in mud to develop agility and strength. Gradually, they are taken to mats to hone their skills as per the international standards.
As per Vikram and Karan, the biggest problem the contemporary players face is getting jobs even after featuring in international events. While the state government offers jobs of DSP and PCS officers to Olympians, other wrestlers are not considered for jobs of constables, assistant sub-inspector, sub-inspector and inspector.
Before Tarn Taran district was carved out in 2006, Amritsar produced an exhaustive array of renowned players, including Dara Singh of Dharmuchack village who joined the Bollywood later. Dara Singh of Dulchipur was another established wrestler of his time. Arjun Singh Dhoti, Pooran Singh Sheron, Teja Singh Cheema, Banta Singh Valtoha, Santokh Singh Bahadur Nagar, Joginder Singh Tiger, Harnam Singh Warana and Wassan Singh Sheron, Vijay Kumar Billa were among other renowned wrestlers of 1970s.
Other top-ranked wrestlers are Pehalwan Kartar Singh Sursing who retired as Sports Director, Fateh Singh Sheron, Kehar Singh, Salwinder Singh Shinda Chuslewaria and Shamer Singh Sheron.
Jaskanwar Singh, aka Jassa Patti, has got the title of ‘Rustam-e-Punjab’. He is son of Asian champion Salwinder Singh Shinda Chuslewaria who trained Jassa in wrestling from an early age.
Rich history of sport
It is said that second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad Dev started an akhada in Khadoor Sahib, which continues to produce wrestlers to the day, to instil martial skills among local residents. Kushti, the traditional form of wrestling, was once popular sport and the city had ‘akhadas’ in every nook and cranny. Once being played in mud, wrestling has now shifted to mat to enable players compete in the international championships like Olympics.
Punjab villages are known to host special Kushti Melas called ‘chhinjh’ (wrestling) in Punjabi, where the winners walk away with prizes ranging from cars to medals made of pure gold to cash prizes.
Before the Partition, famous Gama Pehalwan whose anecdotes became part of Punjabi folk culture also hailed from Amritsar.
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