Kushti comes in new avatar

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tribune News Service

Mohali, February 6

Champion’s Pro Kushti made a low-key debut in the nascent field of sports entertainment in India at the International Hockey Stadium, Mohali.

Actor-wrestler Sangram Singh and Robbie E of the US enacted a sort of soap opera involving five rounds of three minutes each with a 45-second break. Singh was declared the winner after knocking out his opponent with the final score reading 17-6.

The next episode of Champion’s Pro Kushti will be played out in Mumbai. Singh, of course, will remain the main protagonist. South African wrestler Ananzi has been announced as his sidekick.

The event, marketed as a blend of professional wrestling and traditional ‘mallayuddh’, managed to pull close to 1,000 spectators into the stadium.

Unreality bites

Indian style kushti is very popular across the country, especially in the rural regions. The term ‘entertainment’ in wrestling has very different and specific connotations — it implies that it’s more entertainment than competition. Internationally, pro wrestling is well-known to be not real – to put it kindly, the results are pre-determined.

Tonight, whether it was wrestling in competitive form or just orchestrated moves, the spectators did not mind as long as it kept entertaining them. Singh, the face of the event, tried his best to keep the spectators involved. It was fun and frolic for the kids and youngsters who had gathered to get a glimpse of reality TV star Sangram Singh and some of them managed to get a picture clicked with their star.

The event was scheduled for 6 pm but began more than an hour late.

The Rohtak-born reality TV star said, “I am thrilled by the encouragement and support we received today from the people of Mohali. It was an honour to play in front of them. We have launched Champion’s Pro Kushti to revive the passion for the game. Wrestling has its roots in the ancient Indian martial art of ‘mallayuddh’.

We are looking to promote Indian wrestling, or ‘kushti’, especially in tier-II towns and beyond, where the country’s most promising talent is simply waiting to be tapped. We want to make India the No. 1 wrestling nation, for which we need to do things differently. Champion’s Pro Kushti is set to bring that difference.”

The organisers donated Rs 51,000 to the Khushboo fund, managed by a private hospital in Mohali, to lend a helping hand to the needy patients. The organisers said they have taken it upon themselves to support various social causes and help the needy.

The organisers also said they intend to produce Indian wrestlers of international calibre who are capable of not only matching up but even bettering the level of performance displayed by Singh and Robbie E today.

Singh, who today performed for the first time in pro wrestling in India, has teamed up with wrestling enthusiast Janardan Pandey to form the Champion’s Pro Kushti in association with World Wrestling Professionals (WWP), South Africa.

Pandey said today’s match marks the first step in their effort to develop India as the world’s best wrestling nation. “We will equip our wrestlers with the right combination of traditional ‘mallayuddha’ and modern grappling techniques,” he said.