Indian wrestling is slowly rising into the most dominant force in Asia. In the past decade, India has given the sport many illustrious names like Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt and Geeta Phogat. And not to forget the current stars Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat. The Indian wrestling team is brimming with talent but the foundation stone for it was set in the 70’s and 80’s, when middle-weight grappler Kartar Singh won two gold medals at the Asian Games in 1978 and 1986.
Born in Sur Singh village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, he was encouraged to take up the sport by his cousin Joginder Singh. However, it was at the age of 14 he pursued wrestling seriously. He had won the district championships and had a steady rise. He made his debut at the Senior Nationals in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1973 in the 58kg category and subsequently became an invincible figure in the domestic circuit, winning the national title 14 times.
The 66-year-old later joined the Punjab Police from which he retired at IGP in 2013. “I have been wrestling even after I stopped representing my country in the senior team. I kept myself busy with veterans wrestling from 1992 to 2015,” he said. Singh now is the President of Punjab Wrestling Federation and is working to bring the lost art of wrestling back to Punjab.
Here is an excerpt of the interview:
WrestlingTV: How did you start wrestling?
Kartar: I began wrestling at a young age. It was my cousin brother who introduced me to the sport. But it was in the eight standard that I had actually got serious about wrestling. I had won multiple nationals in different weight classes. It was like a habit for me during the period between 1973 and 1986.
WrestlingTV: Tell us about your exploit at the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Kartar: The 1978 CWG CWG was held in Canada. I had won a bronze in the 90kg category. Subsequently, the trials were held for the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games and during those days there was Vijay Kumar. He was very good and adamant about taking the 90-kg trials for the event. I suggested he should give trials in 100-kg as I had got a bronze in 90-kg at the 1978 CWF Games. He had earlier lost to me in trials and wanted to exact revenge for that and so insisted on challenging me for the 1978 Asiad trials. I won 4-0 at the Patiala held trials and the rest is history.
WrestlingTV: Tell us about time as a President of Punjab Wrestling Federation.
Kartar: I keep myself engaged in promoting wrestling in schools and colleges. I’m the President of Punjab Wrestling Association since 1993. We have been working closely with all the akhada in Punjab to help the sport become popular amongst the current generation.
WrestlingTV: What are your aim for wrestling after the government allows to hold wrestling competitions?
Kartar: I am planning to start a programme ‘Fitness Punjab’ in which will encourage everyone regardless of the age to participate in it. Apart from this, I am also thinking of starting a local league which will help in revival of wrestling in Punjab. We are in talks with sponsors for it, lets hope it works.