Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle

  • Post category:Blogs & Events
  • Post author:
  • Reading time:8 mins read
Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle

Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle

Some interesting facts about Gama Pehalwan

  • Does Gama Pehelwan smoke? not known
  • Did Gama Pehalwan drink alcohol? not known
  • He was born in the village of Jabbowal Amritsar in a Kashmiri family.
  • His family is known for having world-class wrestlers.
  • When Gama was 6 years old, his father Mohammad Aziz Baksh, a famous wrestler, died.
  • After his father’s death, Gama Pehalwan was looked after by his maternal grandfather and Noon Pehalwan. After the death of Nun Pehalwan, he was looked after by his uncle Ida and it was he who trained Gama Pehalwan for the first time in wrestling.
  • In 1888, at the age of 10, Gamma was first seen in public. When he participated in a competition held in Jodhpur. Gama’s place in the competition was number 15. The Maharaja of Jodhpur was so impressed with Gama’s performance that he declared Gama the winner.
Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle
Maharaja-Sir-Jaswant-Singh-II
  • Thereafter, the Maharaja of Datia took him with him for training.

Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle

  • According to sources, Gama wrestled in the arena with 40 wrestlers every day during training. Gama used to do 5000 squats and 3000 pushups in a day.
  • In 1895, at the age of 17, Gama challenged Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala (then Indian wrestling champion) Kashmiri wrestler, who was from Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala was a middle-aged man whose height was around 7 feet and who also had a great record. The wrestling match lasted several hours and eventually ended in a draw.

 

Gama Pahalwan Biography Google Doodle
Rahim-Bakhsh-Sultaniwala
  • His encounter with Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala was one of the most important in Gama’s life.
  • By the year 1910, except for Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala, Gama defeated all major Indian wrestlers who wrestled him.
  • After his domestic successes, Gama turned his attention to other parts of the world.

READ MORE: Today Google Doodle Celebrating Bubble Tea

  • Gama went to England with his younger brother Imam Baksh to compete with Western wrestlers. However, due to his short stature, he was admitted later.
  • When he was in London he challenged the wrestlers that he could throw 3 wrestlers in any weight class for 30 minutes, but no one was ready to accept it. They all thought he was fooling them.
  • In addition, Gama specifically challenges Stanislaus Jabischko and Frank Gotch, asking them to either compete with them or give them the prize money.
  • This challenge was accepted for the first time by the American wrestler ‘Benjamin Roller’. Gamma overtook Roller in 1 minute 40 seconds and then again there was a fight between Gama and Roller, in which Roller could only last 9 minutes and 10 seconds. The next day Gama defeated 12 wrestlers to enter the official tournament.
  • On 10 September 1910, Gama faced world champion Stanislaus Zibesco in the final of the John Bull Belt World Championships in London. The match was for £250 (₹22000) prize money. After nearly three hours of wrestling, the match between Zibesco and Gama ended in a draw.
  • On the second day, when Zibesco and Gama were to compete, Zibesco did not come to the field out of fear and then Gama was declared the winner.
  • During his tour of the West, Gama defeated some of the most prestigious wrestlers in the world. Such as Maurice Derris of France, Doc” Benjamin Roller of the United States, Jesse Petersen (world champion) of Sweden, and Johann Lemm (European champion) of Switzerland.
  • Wrestling with Benjamin Roller, Gama threw him 13 times in 15 minutes.
  • After defeating many of the world’s famous wrestlers, Gama issued a challenge to those who claimed the title of “world champion”. Judo wrestlers ‘Taro Miyaki of Japan, ‘George Hackenschmidt of Russia, ‘And Fank Gosh’ of America were included. However, none of them accepted his invitation.
  • Gama then said that he would fight twenty consecutive wrestlers one after the other, but still, no one accepted his challenge.
  • After returning to India from England, there was wrestling in Allahabad between Gama and Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala. This wrestling lasted for a long time and Gama won the title of Rustam-e-Hind by winning this wrestling.
  • When asked about his strongest rival, Gama replied “Rahim Baksh Sultaniwala”.
  • In the year 1916, Gama defeated India’s famous wrestler ‘Pandit Biddu’.
  • In the year 1922, the ‘Prince of Wales’ of England presented Gama with a prized silver ‘Gada’ (Gurja) as a gift during his visit to India.
  • No one had challenged Gamma till the year 1927. However, it was soon announced that Gama and Zibesco would once again face each other. The match took place in Patiala in January 1928 and Gama defeated Zibesco within a minute and became the winner of the World Wrestling Championship. After the match, Zibesco addressed Gama as “Tiger”.
  • In February 1929, Gama fought for the last time in which he beat Jesse Peterson in one and a half minutes. Gama was victorious in this match.
  • In the year 1940, at the invitation of the Nizam of Hyderabad, Gama defeated all his wrestlers, then the Nizam sent him to fight the wrestler Balram Herman Singh Yadav, who was never defeated in his life. After a long fight, Gama could not defeat him. Eventually, the match ended in a draw and none of the wrestlers won.
  • In the year 1947, he moved to Pakistan after the partition of India Pakistan.
  • No one could beat Gama Pehalwan till his retirement in the year 1952.
  • After his retirement, Gama coached his nephew Bholu Pehalwan. He was the champion of Pakistani wrestling for almost 20 years.
  • In his final days, Gama suffered a chronic illness and struggled to pay for his treatment. To help him, an entrepreneur “GD Birla” and a wrestling fan donated Rs 2,000 and a monthly pension of ₹ 300 to him. Till the time of his death, the Government of Pakistan also supported his medical expenses.
  • A 95 kg donut-shaped wheel used in his workout is kept at the ‘National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
  • According to sources, Gama Pehalwan had lifted a 1200 kg stone in Baroda in the year 1902 and he had also walked for some distance after lifting it.
  • According to a report, Bruce Lee used to follow the routine of a Gama wrestler.

Here is a glimpse of Gama Pehalwan’s match:

Leave a Reply