1.2K vie for top honours at Kyalu Baba wrestling meet

The four-day national-level Kyalu Baba wrestling competitions concluded at Gangath in the neighbouring Indora Assembly constituency late Thursday evening. Men and women wrestlers from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu participated in the competitions.

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Over 1,200 wrestlers from different states vied for top honours in three categories, locally known as ‘maalis’, during the main and concluding wrestling competition. Thousands of devotees paid obeisance at the Kyalu Baba temple and enjoyed wrestling bouts.

In the first category, Sikander Sheikh from Maharashtra won the first prize of a tractor, while Preetpal of Phagwara, Punjab, drove home an Alto car as the top prize in the second category. In the third category, wrestler Hodhi from Iran won the first prize of a Bullet motorcycle.

According to Sunil Gupta, organising secretary of the committee, on the opening day of the competitions, 178 wrestlers participated and motorcycle was awarded as the first prize.

On the second day, a mat wrestling competition was organised for women, in which 180 wrestlers took part. “Divya Kakaran from Delhi won the first prize of an Alto car and Kajal from Haryana won second prize, a Bullet motorcycle. Prizes worth around Rs 1 crore have been donated by the devotees of Kyalu Baba,” Gupta added.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar presided over the closing ceremony and awarded prizes to the winners. Addressing a mammoth gathering of devotees, the minister said the historical wrestling bout was a unique medium to cherish of folk culture and historical heritage.

“Such events inspire the youth towards healthy lifestyle and promote brotherhood in society. The state government is committed to promoting such traditional events,” he reiterated.

Chander Kumar said Rs 40 lakh announced by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu last year for developing basic infrastructure and other facilities at Kyalu Baba temple had been released.

Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj, Nurpur MLA Ranbir Singh and Indora MLA Malinder Rajan were present as special guests on the occasion.