Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti Biography
Mahendra Gaikwad was still only a little child, but his father, Babasaheb Gaikwad, had big expectations for him. The small child from the hamlet of Shirsi in southern Maharashtra’s Solapur district knew exactly what he intended to achieve with his life when he was born.
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti intended to train to be a wrestler (Usko pehelwan banna tha). It is unavoidable. My father had been a pehelwan. I wrestled as well as my brother. Mahendra’s father, Babasaheb, claims that he is the third wrestler in the family.
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti also had a strategy for the course of his pehelwani career. This region of Maharashtra, the home of wrestling, seems content with the traditional ways, while wrestlers in other parts of the world have already moved to synthetic foam mats in an effort to earn an Olympic gold.
On compacted earth, also known as mitti, every wrestler in this place engaged in combat. The greatest pehelwans, in Babasaheb’s opinion, were those who were unconcerned about their weight. Other wrestlers could need to make difficult weight reductions. Instead of a medal, the winner received Hanuman’s golden mace. The deity of Indian wrestling is Hanuman.
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti Age
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti was twenty years old when he wrote this piece.
Childhood and Career
Like his grandpa, father, and uncle, Mahendra was required to engage in mitti circle wrestling while wearing a loincloth. Babasaheb hoped that his son would fight in the maidan (competition) in November during Vetal Yatra, the celebration honoring Shirsi’s patron village god.
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti could battle maidens all throughout the state if he was skilled. If he was excellent, Babasaheb believed his kid could compete in the Maharashtra Kesari, an open-weight mitti kushti competition held throughout the state. He claims that the best wrestler in Maharashtra is the one who wins the competition.
Babasaheb must increase his son’s aspirations for stardom. In the men’s 125 kg freestyle on Wednesday at the World Junior Championships, the 20-year-old won silver. “Yeh toh international nikal gaya, hum soch rahe Maharashtra Kesari ban sakta hai,” he says. We feared he may turn into a Maharashtra Kesari, but he became a worldwide star. Babasaheb chuckles.
The outcome shocked Babasaheb. First sporting event in India. Mahendra defeated two challenging opponents, including Turkey’s Adil Misirci, a bronze medalist at the U-23 European championships earlier this year, before falling to Iran’s Masoumi Valadi in the title match, 13-2. “We were hoping for a bronze medal.” It’s remarkable to have made it this far. Mahendra practices at the Pune academy run by former professional wrestler Kaka Pawar.
India earned six bronze medals in the freestyle division at the junior world championships in 2022 in the weight categories of 57 kg, 61 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, and 97 kg. Mahendra was the first Indian to make it to the final in 20 years, although medals in the highest weight class are exceptional. (Palwinder Cheema, 2001) In India, heavyweight wrestlers are uncommon. Pawar continues, “If you do, they prefer not to compete on the mat.”
True. Mat wrestling hasn’t provided super heavyweight fighters as many possibilities as maidan kushti, or dangals, in north India. Heavyweight wrestlers receive good money from Mitti Kushiti. A single fight brings in between two and three lakh rupees. Why practice for four years for a few chances at the Commonwealth, Asian, World, or Olympic Games, wonders Pawar?
Mahendra never gave the World Championships much thought. His uncles Kakasaheb and Naganath Gaikwad taught him how to wrestle in the Jay Hanuman talim, or akhara, of his village. “He received the same training that his father and we did.” According to Babasaheb, he completed all of the mitti exercises.
Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti competed in local wrestling matches; however, his early efforts were not very impressive. His father believes he changed after bringing him to Kaka Pawar’s Pune academy three years ago. Pawar believes mat wrestling has a future, even if maidan kushti continues to attract tens of thousands of spectators. Such a vision is shown in his Pune academy, the “Antarashtriya Kushti Sankulan (International Wrestling Center)”.