Malakpur
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Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh
Apr 26 2015
Village where even 9-yr-olds wrestle
Sandeep RaI
Malakpur village, located in the Baraut tehsil of Baghpat district, is known locally as the village of wrestlers.Here, the moment a child attains the age of nine, he is introduced to the akhara. As a result, the village is teeming with wrestling champs and aspiring grapplers. “Wrestling is embedded deep in the psyche of every youth in our village,“ says Shokender Tomar, 33, one of the three Arjuna awardees that the village boasts of. “Parents encourage their children to take up this sport since it is a very good way of keeping the body healthy . Also, it helps the youth to stay away from vices and addictions, and most importantly , it opens the doors to government jobs. Today , hundreds of youths from our village have found employment in the railways, police, army etc.“
Hari Singh, who like many others has sent his child to the akhara, says akhara, says that the key to success is starting early.“The sooner you start, the better are your chances of gaining proficiency in the sport. “ The village incidentally has about 12 international-level players of which a girl, Anshu Tomar has recently been selected for the forthcoming Senior Asian Wrestling Championship to be held in Doha, Qatar. Another youth, Sandeep Tomar, has found place in the national team this year.
So how did the village get hooked to wrestling? According to Ombir Singh, a village elder, Malakpur's passion for the sport probably started some centuries ago. “This was the time when wrestlers used to be revered for their strength. Annual games used to be held in which chal enges were thrown by individuals, local ties and even villages. The winner was reated to a feast by the village because his strength and skill would bring glory and honour. Probably , that motivated the youth to take up wrestling in earnest.“
A number of legendary names resonate in the village, like Ballam Pehelwan, who weighed 130 kgs. He not only ought with a British wrestler during he colonial era -a remarkable feat in hose days -but also defeated him.
Currently , though, for most aspiring wrestlers, the most revered name is Iqbal Singh Khalifa who is the guru of all hree Arjuna awardees that the village has produced, and has trained more han 2,000 pehelwans.
“I have my own akhara where I train hese children. I started this akhara in 1982,“ the 65-year-old Khalifa told TOI.
Acknowledging the role his guru had played, Rajiv Tomar, who won the Arjuna award in 2010 and who represented ndia in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said, “Due to the presence of Iqbal Khalifa, he passion for wrestling has got the much needed direction in our village.“
