BAGALOKT: His medal rack is full of medallions, cups and shields from different state- and national-level tournaments. With such achievements, one would expect him to lead a decent life. But that is not to be. Appasi Terdal can now be seen working as a daily wage labourer, carrying gunny bags of vegetables at the market at Mudhol town, earning meagre sums every day.
A resident of Kumbarhalla village of Jamkhandi taluk, this 42-year-old has participated in several competitions in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Haryana, Punjab etc. He has also won several accolades in Karnataka, including the Dasara sports meet in Mysuru. Recently, he was selected for an international championship in Malaysia, but could not travel because of his financial condition.
A master of his trade, he has also trained several Kannada actors, including Duniya Vijay, for their roles in movies. Duniya Vijay learnt the grips, grapples and tricks of wrestling from Appasi for his role in the 2018 flick, Kanaka. “I spent weeks training Vijay for the role,” he said.
Appasi also associated himself with some tournaments as a coach to earn some money. But with no regular sources of income, he is finding it difficult to continue his passion for wrestling, he said. “To take part in several tournaments, I sought and got financial help from many people. I have dozens of medals, but they have not helped me earn a decent living,” he said ruefully. Despite facing penury and financial constraints, Appasi wishes to open a wrestling academy for budding wrestlers if the government or any organisation offers him land and financial assistance.