Competition or not, the mud dust at the practice rings of talims (wrestling training centres) across western Maharashtra never settled. The coronavirus situation has left these high physical activity places deserted for the past six months.

What hurts the state wrestlers is that its Haryana counterparts are allowed to practice by the authorities. The rise in Covid-19 cases has left Maharashtra government to deny permission for contact sports.

There are around 40 talims in Pune and 25 in Kolhapur.

“The authorities should at least give us permission to run talims with 50 per cent players. We deserve some relaxation,” said Kaka Pawar, who runs his talim at Ambegaon, Katraj.

At least 250 wrestlers train under Pawar at his four-storey building that also has accommodation facility.

“Many of my wrestlers have not gone to their hometown for fear of contacting the infection. They carry out their daily exercises following social distancing norms and also cook their food,” Pawar.

The coach said that daily practice is a must for wrestlers. “Just think how much of our wrestlers are lagging behind in terms of fitness and skill. No high-prize money competitions like dangal kusti and jatra kusti are also affecting them financially,” he said.

Wrestling contests organised on festivals like Aasadhi Ekadashi, Hanuman Jayanti and Ramnavmi were also not held this year because of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

“These tournaments help wrestlers from villages to earn good money,” he said.

Wrestlers hailing from Kolhapur and Sangli were left with no option, but to return to their villages because of financial strain.

“My talim is closed since March. The government should give us permission to train at least a few wrestlers who still have a chance to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics,” said Krishnat Patil, who runs Motibaugh talim in Kolhapur.

Keeping wrestlers motivated is also a challenge that coaches face as many of them are now hooked to phones.

“Since it is a contact sport, wrestlers have a habit of practicing in a group. The lockdown has left them spending their most time on phones,” said Patil, who trains around 300 wrestlers.

With Maharashtra Kesari and senior national wrestling championship scheduled in December, state wrestlers are worried about their training.

“There has been no practice since the virus broke in March. Now we have only three months of training left for big events like Maharashtra Kesari and national championship,” said Mauli Jamdade, grappler from Kolhapur.

Wrestlers take:

Ramchandra Kamble, winner of 79kg bout in 63rd Maharashtra Kesari

We are focussing on improving immunity, and daily exercise routine is followed at Kaka Pawar talim.

Shailesh Shelke, runner-up, 63rd Maharashtra Kesari

We must follow the coronavirus prevention measures, but authorities should take steps to restart contact sports.

Harshvardhan Sadgir, winner, 63rd Maharashtra Kesari

Wrestlers across the state are missing their practice due to lockdown and are worried about their performance.