NEW DELHI: It’s four in the evening but the Chhatrasal Stadium is barely a speck. As one draws closer, it turns into a silhouette cutting across North Delhi’s fading landscape. Within the precinct, young athletes from between eight to 30 years of age emerge from a thick blanket of smog. Schools may be closed but this wrestling academy is never closed. It’s the same cradle where multiple Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and London Games bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt nurtured their craft.
After reaching the far left of the stadium, the wrestlers sit down in rows. A few metres away, an old man sitting on a slab wearing a sky blue tracksuit watches every wrestler’s move. He gets up, the wards follow. He then waves his arms and everybody assembles. Ten of them are asked to step out. The rest are asked to start jogging. It was later learnt that those 10 were facing some disciplinary action. After allowing them five days to clear the mess, he asks them to rejoin the group.
At this hallowed precinct discipline is paramount. “Without this there will be no champions,” says Yashvir Singh, one of the coaches at the facility. “When I came here, Satpal and I decided to start an akhada in 1987. We had only eight to 10 kids. After four to five months, we started the residential wing. After two years, medals started flowing.” He has seen Sushil and Yogeshwar grow.
The pehalwans at the academy are from all age groups. The sight of the senior-most athletes training with kids, who can barely lift a 5kg dumb-bell is striking. Of course, this is only one of the regimens the wards follow. “After warming up, they are split according to their weight category,” says Yashvir. But this doesn’t mean the young ones are allowed to have it easy. Extreme training methods like rope climbing are practised by everybody. The morning starts at 4.30 am. After a couple of warming up exercises and sprinting, half an hour is spent relaxing. Then, they practice in the new matting facility. Back then, when the academy was launched, it was a novelty.
Early days
Initially, when the academy was launched there were hardly any takers. Yashvir had to coax and cajole families to keep their wards in the academy. Not anymore. Such is the demand that the academy follows strict procedure to select wrestlers.
With most of them belonging to middle-class families, the idea of a residential academy was very difficult to promote back then. But there is an element of surprise here as well. Coaching and staying at the academy is completely free. The only fee collected is for food and other nutrients. Students pay a combined bill of `1500 to `2000 for breakfast lunch and dinner every month. “For exceptional talent, there are special financial schemes. We all donate together and help such kids,” Yashvir says.
When it all began, Sushil and Yogeshwar used to practice on mud pits. Back then mats were for a selected few, especially those who train in the national camp. Even in Delhi, it was scarce until the 2008 Olympic Games. Two decades later, life’s changed even at the academy. There are air conditioners and mattresses. The traditional ghee and milk have given way to nutritional supplements. Wrestlers are no more strangers to mats. “These days, they are used only for local tournaments called gaaon ka dangal.
While the basics are covered in the morning session, the techniques and special methods are left out for the evening session. Defence and counter techniques are taught so that the wrestlers have technical knowledge during tournaments,” Yashvir said.
Mata, pita, guru, devam is a popular adage in Sanskrit often quoted in Hinduism. The literal translation says mother, father, teacher, god and it is the order in which one should offer reverence. But here, devam comes first and Hanuman ji is the preferred diety. He is the embodiment of brahmacharya (celibacy).
“Hanuman ji is the symbol of power. And power has a lot of importance in wrestling. In olden times, there were very few gym equipment. Hence many wrestlers used the gada or santola for shoulder exercises. Also, he was a brahmachari (bachelor). And being a brahmachari matters a lot in wrestling according to our culture. In a family, you are tempted with the luxuries and pleasure of sexual and other emotions. These tend to distract a wrestler,” concluded Yashvir.
There is a small temple outside the living quarters. Just before entering the arena all wrestlers invoke the spirit of Hanuman to make them strong. Wrestlers in the academy call themselves Hanuman bhakt and lead a life of complete celibacy. They keep away from women and pursue the sport with a single-minded devotion. Their ultimate goal, is to stand on an Olympic podium.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com