Grappling Its Way Back In

Wrestlers train at New Delhi’s Guru Munni Akhara. The International Olympic Committee this week revised its decision to eliminate wrestling from the list of Olympic sports. Its reinstatement in the 2020 Games is being celebrated in India, which recently won individual Olympic medals in the sport. Wrestling or kushti is, in fact, considered more than a mere sport in the country, where it is practised in akharas under the tutelage of a guru. The soil of the akhara is considered sacred by the pehalwans, who rub their heads and bodies with it before they begin their session.

Wrestlers train at New Delhi’s Guru Munni Akhara. The International Olympic Committee this week revised its decision to eliminate wrestling from the list of Olympic sports. Its reinstatement in the 2020 Games is being celebrated in India, which recently won individual Olympic medals in the sport. Wrestling or kushti is, in fact, considered more than a mere sport in the country, where it is practised in akharas under the tutelage of a guru. The soil of the akhara is considered sacred by the pehalwans, who rub their heads and bodies with it before they begin their session. Gruelling physical training, a stringent diet and celibacy for the duration of their profession is considered necessary to reach their maximum potential

New DelhiOlympicwrestling

• 
• 
• 

About The Author

Ashish Sharma

Ashish Sharma is an award-winning photojournalist with a lens that captures the 'moment' in its minutest detail. With over a decade in photojournalism, he is currently Deputy Photo Editor at Open Magazine

•