Cricket

Soccer

Tennis

Auto Racing

Basketball

Golf

Ice Sports

Moto Racing

MMA

Badminton

Rugby

NFL

Snooker

Athletics

Hockey

Volleyball

Cycling

Table Tennis

MLB

Aquatics

Multi Sports

Posted 2 years ago

Multi Sports General

The North-East’s potential role in Indian wrestling

0 0 0 166 0

According to veteran sports-writer Ranjit Dalvi, sports in India has often overlooked the talents of a particular community and subsequently missed out on their potential contributions.

This includes the Anglo-Indian community of Bombay and its fading contribution to Indian hockey,as well aswrestlers from Maharashtra, who did not diversify from fights on mud, early enough to take on the high-strength and more technical version of wrestling practiced in Haryana.

Furthermore, he also thinks that Indian wrestling itself is set to lose out if it doesn’t diversify its technique, in the face of rival nations like Japan and Iran. Indian wrestling is currently strength based, and according to Dalvi, a unique advantage could be gained if the judo skills of wrestlers from the north-east were exploited.

This is because wrestling in India predominantly follows a style developed in North India, while the North-East has athletes who are agile and have a physique suited to incorporating judo into wrestling. This can help to diversify wrestling from the leg-centereddefencethat it is currently trapped in.

While wrestling is more forceful and involves more punching, judo involves throwdowns, and combining the two can give rise to a more dynamic fighting style that could give fighters the edge they were missing at the World Championship.

The advantage of a hybrid fighting style is well known, as demonstrated at MMA events like UFC, where famed fighters like Nurmagomedov have used hybrid judo moves in his grappling.

Indian wrestling is also in need of surprise moves that can stun opponents, such as when Sushil Kumar was caught off guard by a throw by Yonemitsu at the London Olympics final.

Moreover, at the recent World Championships, of the Top Five moves picked by the UWW, 4 were throws that needed techniques like judo, rather than the use of brute strength. Athletes from the north-east typically have smaller bodies, which means a lower centre of gravity, strength, and combative instincts, along with lean muscles.

If these fighters are further infused with the strength traditionally associated with the wrestling of NorthIndia, it could provide for the missing piece in Indian wrestling.