Wrestling in India | |
---|---|
Governing body | Wrestling Federation of India |
National competitions | |
International competitions | |
Olympic Medalists : Bronze: Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav in 1952 Bronze: Sushil Kumar in 2008 Silver: Sushil Kumar in 2012 Bronze: Yogeshwar Dutt in 2012 Bronze: Sakshi Malik in 2016 Bronze: Bajrang Punia in 2020 Silver: Ravi Kumar Dahiya in 2020 Asian Games Champions : Gold: Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia, Rajinder Singh, Maruti Mane, Kartar Singh (2 titles), Chandgi Ram, Satpal Singh, Malwa Singh, Ganpat Andhalkar, Vinesh Phogat |
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.
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 protagonists of the Mahabharata , Bhima, was considered to be a great wrestler of his time, with some of his contemporaries including Karna, Jarasandha, Kichaka, and Balarama. The other prominent Indian epic, the Ramayana , also mentions wrestling in India and Hanuman is described as one of the greatest wrestlers of his time.
During the reign of Mughal Empire, 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 style popular throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in modern times. [2]
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.
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 |
Total | 85 | 135 | 203 | 423 |
Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting or simply grappling, is a competitive martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates elements of various grappling arts such as various wrestling styles, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Submission wrestling is practiced both as a competitive sport and as a training method for self-defence and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Pehlwani, also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in the South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words pehlwani and kushti derive from the Persian terms pahlavani (heroic) and koshti respectively, meaning Heroic wrestling. A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a pehlwan while teachers are known as ustad.
Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines, by Classical times they were used generically for all fighting systems.
A folk wrestling style is any traditional style of wrestling, which may or may not be codified as a modern sport. Most cultures have developed regional forms of grappling.
Malla-yuddha is the traditional form of combat-wrestling originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles such as naban and is one of the two ancestors of kushti. Indian wrestling is described in the 13th century Malla Purana.
Mukna is a form of folk wrestling from the north-east Indian state of Manipur. It is popular in Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur. The game is generally played on the last day of the Lai Haraoba festival and is an intrinsic part of the ceremonial functions.
The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where they form the dominant ethnolinguistic group and the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years.
Akhara or Akhada is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a sampradaya monastery for religious renunciates in Guru–shishya tradition. For example, in the context of the Dashanami Sampradaya sect, the word denotes both martial arts and religious monastic aspects of the trident wielding martial regiment of the renunciating sadhus.
Mallakhamba, or mallakhamb is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a group of gymnasts perform aerial yoga and gymnastic postures using wrestling grips in concert with a stationary vertical pole. The word "mallakhamb" also refers to the pole used in the sport. The pole is usually made from sheesham polished with castor oil. Other popular versions of mallakhamba are practiced using a cane or a rope instead of a pole. The origins of pole dancing can be traced back to the sport of mallakhamba.
This martial arts timeline is designed to help describe the history of the martial arts in a linear fashion. Many of the articles for particular styles have discussions of their history. This article is designed to help visualize the development of these arts, to help better understand the progression of the separate styles and illustrate where they interrelate.
The kaupinam, kaupina, langot, or lungooty is a loincloth worn by men in the Indian subcontinent as underclothing, it is still commonly worn in South Asian by pehlwano (wrestlers) while exercising or sparring in a dangal. It is basically a rectangular strip of cloth used to cover the genitals, with strings connected to the four ends of the cloth, for binding it around the waist and between the legs.
Vajra-musti refers to a "fist-load, knuckleduster-like" weapon and also a form of Indian wrestling in which the weapon is employed. The weapon is sometimes called Indra-musti which means Indra's fist.
Many sports are played by the people of Tamil Nadu including both traditional sports and sports from other countries.
Punjabi Kurta and Tamba are traditional costume for men of Punjab.
Bharat Kesri Dangal is freestyle wrestling competition organised by the Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs department to commemorate the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
Wrestling in Pakistan, known locally as koshti, has been practiced since ancient times, mainly in Punjab (Pehlwani) and Sindh (Malakhra).
The Haryanvi people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to Haryana in northern India. They speak Haryanvi, a central Indo-Aryan language related to Western Hindi, and other similar dialects such as Ahirwati, Mewati, Puadhi, Rangri, and Bagri. The term Haryanvi people has been used both in the ethnolinguistic sense and for someone from Haryana.
Gatta gusthi is a form of submission wrestling practiced in Kerala, India. It is competed inside an open ring on the ground, usually on a beach, known as godha. Wrestlers are called phayalvans. The sport consists of around 100 techniques. Gatta gusthi was popular in the state until the arrival of freestyle wrestling and karate in late 1960s. Its freestyle form is known simply as gusthi.
Indian physical culture is the form of physical culture practiced in India.
In the 16th century, another northern wrestling influence was brought to the Indian sub-continent by the Persian Mughals. This practice combined with the indigenous form to create the pehlwani wrestling style popular throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh today.