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Pune: Wrestlers across the state are in a bind. There are no competitions to look forward to, no titles to be won, practice sessions are not sharp enough, and their strict and varied diet has shrunk.
Professional wrestlers like Sachin Jamdar (29) from Kolhapur’s Gangavesh Talim with many competition titles to his name have found the past few months excruciating to get by. He cannot practice well since a partner is difficult to find, and he cannot afford the diet that requires him to be in good shape.
Wrestlers like Jamdar secure their finances from local and state-level competitions mostly organized from November till May. This year has gone by without any earnings, and now they have to work extra hard for the upcoming season, which seems uncertain.
“I still wake up at 4am. Along with 4-5 other wrestlers, all seniors, we take care of the Gangavesh talim while practice remains out of bounds for regular wrestlers. There are around 125 budding wrestlers, but they have all gone home, some to nearby villages and the others out of state after the lockdown. After it was eased, only around 15-20 from nearby towns have returned,” he said.
A professional wrestler who has to follow a strict diet needs Rs 20,000-25,000 every month. “There is no way we have such money. For now, we are just focusing on retaining what strength we had gained,” he said.
Ram Sarang, a 1982 Commonwealth gold medallist-turned-coach, told TOI, “It is a contact sport and we know the dangers of the coronavirus. But someone needs to step in to help budding and pro-wrestlers. From the state government to the non-governmental organizations, any help will be appreciated.”
District sports officer, Pune, Vijay Santan said wresting being a contact sport, there were no guidelines from the government to get it back to normal yet. Officials said wrestlers will have to wait until the activity in ‘akhadas’ can resume.
Professional wrestlers like Sachin Jamdar (29) from Kolhapur’s Gangavesh Talim with many competition titles to his name have found the past few months excruciating to get by. He cannot practice well since a partner is difficult to find, and he cannot afford the diet that requires him to be in good shape.
Wrestlers like Jamdar secure their finances from local and state-level competitions mostly organized from November till May. This year has gone by without any earnings, and now they have to work extra hard for the upcoming season, which seems uncertain.
“I still wake up at 4am. Along with 4-5 other wrestlers, all seniors, we take care of the Gangavesh talim while practice remains out of bounds for regular wrestlers. There are around 125 budding wrestlers, but they have all gone home, some to nearby villages and the others out of state after the lockdown. After it was eased, only around 15-20 from nearby towns have returned,” he said.
A professional wrestler who has to follow a strict diet needs Rs 20,000-25,000 every month. “There is no way we have such money. For now, we are just focusing on retaining what strength we had gained,” he said.
Ram Sarang, a 1982 Commonwealth gold medallist-turned-coach, told TOI, “It is a contact sport and we know the dangers of the coronavirus. But someone needs to step in to help budding and pro-wrestlers. From the state government to the non-governmental organizations, any help will be appreciated.”
District sports officer, Pune, Vijay Santan said wresting being a contact sport, there were no guidelines from the government to get it back to normal yet. Officials said wrestlers will have to wait until the activity in ‘akhadas’ can resume.
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