The most buzzing wrestling hub is nestled in the Chhatrasal Stadium Complex in West Delhi. The Chhatrasal Akhara is to wrestling what Sansarpur in Jalandhar district of Punjab has been to hockey or Azad Maidan in Mumbai to cricket.

As one of the budding wrestlers puts it: “Yaha ki mitti mein kuch alag baat hai. (There is something different here)” The state of the art wrestling coaching center is the place where tradition meets modernity.

Chhatrasal Akhara, started by former Asian Games gold medalist Mahabali Satpal, continues to act as a feeder to Indian wrestling. In the Olympic squad, all the three men’s wrestler – Ravi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia – had their roots at the academy.

Ravi Dahiya, who won silver in 57kg category, continues to train there. Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia, on the other hand, have moved out of Akhara. However, at one point, the trio had been part of the coveted wrestling academy.

Incidentally, out of the six Olympic medalists, four wrestlers have roots at Chhatrasal akhara.

What makes the akhara so special?

Simply put it is the hunger of producing the best wrestlers. This is a big driving force that feeds as a motivation factor for the coaching staff.

The basics, though, start in the mud pit, the traditional akhara, before the trainees graduate to the next level to hon their skills on mats. Having extra mats won’t cost India’s most-decorated wrestling gurukul much but there is a purpose and methodology behind grooming wrestlers in a particular way.

There is no doubting the sincerity of their beliefs. And perhaps in some ways it the training methodology seems to be working just fine. At the Olympics, Ravi Dahiya was an unstoppable force. His movements were lightning quick and had brilliant reflexes to evade ground attacks.

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Bajrang Punia, who won bronze in the 65 kg bracket despite a knee injury, benefitted from mud wrestling. His upper body strength amalgamated with unbelievable stamina was key to him finishing at the podium.

The training at Akhara starts at 4:30 am. A customary warm-up – five to ten rounds of the stadium – is followed up by high intensity training.

After an hour of fitness workouts, begin mat training. The training session can go from anywhere between five to six hours.

The weight training sessions are only twice a week.

Following the rigorous workout, wrestlers return to their dormitories to recover and get ready for the evening session.

At the akhara, the management relies on traditional food and nutrition for the trainees. Supplement or synthetic substitutes are not allowed.

Competitions are a part of the training module of the akhara. After all, what is the point of training without being able to test it?

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The wrestlers participate in the weekly “dangals.” With this they get a feel for the real match situation and financial support with the prize money.

The boys at the academy have their in-house idols. There is no dearth of inspiring tales about how Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt became legends. Add Ravi Dahiyas and the Bajrang Punias to that list now. With so many heroes to look up to, every wrestler housed in the akhara knows what it takes to achieve a dream. They have a target set and the Chhatrasal akhada helps them fulfil that with the right amount of guidance.

Chhatarsal Akhara opens the horizons for young prodigies, but getting a chance to train there is an achievement in itself.

Chhatrasal akhara has stood the test of time. In Tokyo it showed once again, why the akhara is considered the prime wrestling hub of India. With the emergence of new heroes, the next-gen will have new folklore to get inspired with.

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