Wrestling India: There was a time when wrestlers in Punjab had a god-like stature. The respect was so much that a mother would take her new-born to their home for blessings. Punjab for long was at the helm of Indian wrestling. But bad government policies to drug addiction of youth led to a paradigm shift. The result was that the centre shifted to Haryana which became India’s new wrestling powerhouse.
Kartar Singh, current Punjab Wrestling Federation president and twin Asian Games champion says in undivided India — before 1947 partition — and many years after it, Punjab produced many great wrestlers but various events and lack of government support led to the downfall of the sport.
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“Back in those days, Sikhs and Muslims would train together and it was the latter who were more indulged in the sport. We produced some great wrestlers like Gama Pahelwan, Ghulam Pahelwan, Kikkar Singh and Rahim Sultanwala of Gujranwala. But many left India after the 1947 partition. Those who were left struggled economically as their biggest support – the kings of princely states – collapsed,” he says.
Today, the situation is such that very few men remain who take care of those once glorious akharas (wrestling academies). But with no source of income, these caretakers do odd jobs to earn a living along with training at these ancient wrestling schools. “There are many akharas in Punjab which are now in poor condition due to lack of funding. Back when kings ruled, these akharas use to be filled with the hustle-bustle of wrestlers but now, the caretakers do odd jobs to make ends meet”, Kartar told WrestlingTV.
Resurgence and second wave of downfall
Former Punjab Police Director General of Police Mehal Singh Bhullar was credited with bringing a sporting revolution in the Punjab Police when he was transferred to Punjab Armed Police academy, Jalandhar. In 1996, he allowed wrestlers to join the forces via sports quota.
“Mehal Singh had scouted me and recruited me into Punjab Police from Border Security Force (BSF). He loved sports in general was is credited with bringing it back to the people’s lives here,” Kartar says. But with Bhullar gone, and more civil servants with no love for sports started taking up the higher posts. With this Punjab police sports team began to decline and with it came the second wave of downfall. “Everything was good under him. He was very supportive. But after his retirement people who with took the higher posts did not support the athletes. And again wrestling saw its decline,” he added.
Things were bad enough for Punjab wrestling that drug addiction made it even worse. Gurpreet, 77kg Rome Rankings medallist who hails from Mohali says “youngsters are busy getting high on drugs and alcohol. They care less about their future due to the anti-social elements. And for those who come from a good background, their main aim is to leave India,” hinting towards the massive talent drain from Punjab to Canada.
2000 to 2010: Wrestling powerhouse shifted to Haryana
With the turn of the century, Punjab struggled to keep the young legs interested in the sport. On the other hand, the Haryana government took a cue from Bhullar’s initiative and also decided to allow it’s wrestlers to join Haryana Police. The chance of securing future and lucrative offers along with it suddenly opened new doors for the Haryana wrestlers.
“In 2002, we wanted to bring an SAI regional academy in Punjab but the then chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh denied permission to grant land. On the other hand, our neighbouring state was smartly moving forward making schemes to support their athletes,” pointing towards Bhupinder Hooda-led government’s initiative of rewarding sportspersons who won medals for India. “The Haryana government has been very supportive of the players, taking care of them in every way possible and giving away huge prize money to the players who bring laurels to the state. The state has not only promoted wrestling but also other sports all along these years. The government has provided for various facilities like quality infrastructure, good food to athletes. It is the state government’s role to look after all these requirements,” he added.
Efforts by Punjab Federation to revive the lost legacy
Although even today mud wrestling is Punjab wrestler’s go-to competition, mat wrestling has seen a rise in its popularity. Kartar credits Kuldeep Singh Manihar, his senior in the Punjab Federation for making it popular. “In Punjab dangals are normally held during festivals (melas). And to promote mat wrestling we used to take it to various festivals across the state where we would hold small competitions. It slowly started gaining popularity and more wrestlers began participating,” he said.
Besides this, he also started Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Wrestling Competition in 2009 which was funded by his friends. A total of 11 countries participated in it.
Haryana way ahead but the return of nationals a big boost for Punjab
In 2019, the nationals championship had returned to the land of five rivers. Kartar said that the return of the tournament did not only help boost the progress of the sport in the state but also narrow down the widening gap between Haryana and Punjab. “Punjab has a storied past when it comes to sports but there is no doubt that in the last decade or so Haryana has been on the front foot. However, the return of the nationals is a big boost to the sport in the state.
At the tournament, Haryana won 26 medals across the wrestling styles. Punjab, on the other hand, bagged seven medals. The medal tally might not look much in numbers but it proved that there is still a chance for wrestling’s revival in Punjab.
And the testament to it is the state’s performance at the cadet National championships 2020. Punjab threw a pleasant surprise with four medals in Greco-Roman at the age-group competitions. It finished third in the team rankings behind traditional powerhouses Haryana and Punjab.
Punjab rising stature in the Indian wrestling circuit
Currently, four Punjab wrestlers are part of the present Indian squad. Navjot Kaur and Gursharan Preet Kaur are part of the women’s wrestling, while Gurpreet and Harpreet are in Greco-Roman.
Navjot is India’s first women wrestler to win gold at the Asian Championship in 2018 as for Gursharan she marked her return after 13 years with a medal at the Asian Championship in 2020. Meanwhile, Harpreet competes in the 82kg Greco category.
“These wrestlers are the flagbearers of Punjab wrestling and are a huge motivation to the youngsters. We have a very good squad in juniors and with proper government support we can reassert our dominance on Indian wrestling,” Kartar concluded.
