Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in India. Several regional styles and variations in folk wrestling exists in the country. Indian wrestlers have won numerous medals at international competitions in freestyle wrestling.
History 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.
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. 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.
Regional variants
Gatta gusthi, a submission wrestling style common in Kerala. Inbuan, a traditional folk wrestling style native to Mizoram. Kabaddi, a form of South Asian folk wrestling played in teams. Kene, a traditional folk wrestling style native to Nagaland. Malakhra, a wrestling common in Sindh (Pakistan) and Gujarat. Malla-yuddha, oldest traditional wrestling extant in India. Malyutham, a folk wrestling style native to Tamil Nadu. Mukna, a form of folk wrestling native to Manipur. Pehlwani or Kushti, a Mughal style of wrestling common in North India. Vajra-mushti, a folk wrestling form which employs a fist-load weapon.
Tournament records Competition Gold Silver Bronze TotalOlympic Games 0 2 6 8World Championship 1 5 16 22Asian Games 11 15 39 65Asian Championship 25 82 137 244Commonwealth Games 49 39 26 114 Total 86 143 224 453 updated till 31st July, 2024
Notable performances at Summer Olympics Year Event Player Result1920 Men's freestyle featherweight Dinkkarao Shinde 4th1948 Men's freestyle flyweight K. D. Jadhav 6th1952 Men's freestyle bantamweight K. D. Jadhav Men's freestyle featherweight Keshav Mangave 4th 1960 Men's freestyle middleweight Madho Singh 5th Men's freestyle light heavyweight Sajan Singh 7th 1964 Men's freestyle bantamweight Bishambar Singh 6th1968 Men's freestyle 52 kg Sudesh Kumar 6th Men's freestyle 70 kg Udey Chand 6th 1972 Men's freestyle 52 kg Sudesh Kumar 4th Men's freestyle 57 kg Prem Nath 4th 1980 Men's freestyle 68 kg Jagmander Singh 4th Men's freestyle 48 kg Mahabir Singh 5th Men's freestyle 74 kg Rajinder Singh 6th1984 Men's freestyle 74 kg Rajinder Singh 4th Men's freestyle 57 kg Rohtas Singh Dahiya 5th Men's freestyle 52 kg Mahabir Singh 6th Men's freestyle 48 kg Sunil Dutt 7th Men's freestyle 90 kg Kartar Singh 7th1992 Men's freestyle 100 kg Subhash Verma 6th Men's Greco-Roman 48 kg Pappu Yadav 8th2008 Men's freestyle 66 kg Sushil Kumar 2012 Men's freestyle 66 kg Sushil Kumar Men's freestyle 60 kg Yogeshwar Dutt 2016 Women's freestyle 58 kg Sakshi Malik 2020 Men's freestyle 57 kg Ravi Kumar Dahiya Men's freestyle 65 kg Bajrang Punia Men's freestyle 86 kg Deepak Punia 5th2024 Men's freestyle 57 kg Aman Sehrawat Women's freestyle 68 kg Nisha Dahiya 7th Women's freestyle 76 kg Reetika Hooda 7th
See also List of National Sports Award recipients in wrestling Akhara Musti-yuddha, India's oldest form of boxing.
References
Further reading Rudraneil Sengupta, 2016, Enter the Dangal: Travels through India's Wrestling Landscape. Joseph S. Alter, 1992, The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India. Saurabh Duggal, 2017, Akhada: The Authorized Biography of Mahavir Singh Phogat.
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