No more shy pahalwans, modern wrestlers sing and dance on social media

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 14

Gone are the days when you would see pahalwans shy away from getting clicked or featuring in a video. The modern day wrestlers are very social media savvy.

From Tik Tok to Snapchat videos, the new-age wrestlers are out to change the years old image of “hardcore wrestlers” who ran away from media.

Netizens are in awe of the wrestlers grooving to the latest Haryanvi and Punjabi songs and making Snapchat videos.

From Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik to the Phogat sisters, all could be seen having fun on social media.

The wrestlers in the Indian national team could be seen dancing to Punjabi and Haryanvi songs during off-training hours.

The officials with the Indian wrestling team said, “All the current wrestlers are very much net savvy, and always have fun after training.”

Most of the wrestlers are not only using social media for a good pass-time but are regularly updating their fans through it.

In a recent Instagram post, Sakshi Malik was seen mimicking the viral dialogue of the forthcoming movie ‘Gully Boy’—featuring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhat—with her wrestler hubby, Satyawart Kadian.

In a viral video, the younger Phogat sister Ritu Phogat was seen dancing her heart out to the famous Haranvyi Song ‘Oh Nandi ke beere’ after a practice session on a Europe training stint.

Commonwealth Games medalist Mausam Khatri and Amit Dhayia, in a Tik Tok story, were seen having a ‘bromance’ at their hostel room during their camp at Sonepat.

Kuldeep Singh, Indian national wrestling coach, said, “Off the wrestling mat, they dance, sing and act. Grapplers are super fun when they are not practicing and, I think, these help them to recover mentally from the rigid training plan.”