The history of this natural sport of hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed
contestants dates back to the Sumerian dynasty, over 5,000 years ago. Wall paintings found
in a tomb at Beni Hasan, a village of middle Egypt, show that nearly 5,000 years ago the
local people virtually knew every wrestling hold which is in vogue today. Carved figures
unearthed in India also authenticate wrestling practices of those times. The Greeks
introduced it as an event in the ancient Olympics in 704 B.C. There is also reference to
wrestling in the Bible (Genesis XXXII, 24) wherein a man is mentioned to have been
wrestling with Jacob till daybreak.
The Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata abound in the wrestling feats of Hanuman,
Sugreev, Vaali, the Pandavas, the Kauravas, Jarasandha and Balaram. In fact, some of the
present day holds such as Hanumanti, Jarasandhi and Bhimi are named after some of the
above mentioned legendary figures.
Though there are records of Mughal patronage to wrestling, the sport once again became
popular worldwide during the 18th Century and has been a part of the modern Olympic
movement since 1896. Modern wrestling is practised in two styles. The "Free
style" of the American origin and the "Greco-Roman", a French innovation
that came a0out in the 1860s.
The game in India was popularised by the princely rulers of Baroda, Jodhpur, Kolhapur
Cooch-Behar, Patiala and Jhargam. At that time India produced great wrestlers like Karim
Bux, Ghulam, Gobar, Gama, Gunga, Imam Bux and Kakar Singh. In 1892, Karim Bux defeated
Toni Cannon of England for the world championship. Subsequently Ghulam in 1900 and Gobar
in 1921 won the World Championships respectively defeating Kader Ali of Turkey in Paris
and Adshanter in San Francisco.
Though India made its debut in the Olympic competition in 1920 at Antwerp, the Wrestling
Federation of India was formed only in 1948 with N. Ahmed as the secretary. K.D. Jadhav
won a bronze medal in the bantam weight category in 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Indian
wrestlers have not been taking the world by storm, however there have been a few silver
linings here and there in the form of medal victories at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Some of the best being the three gold, six silver and the three bronze haul at the 1962
Jakarta Asiad and the four gold, five silver and one bronze tally at the 1974 Christchurch
Commonwealth Games. |