Wrestlers Prepare the Mud Akhada for Hanuman Jayanti which is practice place for Wrestling at (Akhada) Gangavesh Taleem. - 4K stock video

Maharastra , Kolhapur , India: April 11, 2025: Wrestlers Prepare the Mud Akhada for Hanuman Jayanti which is practice place for Wrestling at (Akhada) Gangavesh Taleem. Wrestling in India, traces its origin way back to the fifth century BCE. In the global context, the martial art form is said to have existed, in a primitive form, since 7000 BCE. In India, the early form of wrestling was known as ‘malla-yuddha’ (hand-to-hand combat) and several references to it can be found in ancient epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are quite a few Akhadas or Taleems are able to survive in Kolhapur and other few cities of Varanasi, Haryana, Punjab but Mud wrestling is getting diminished slowly as the majority of Wrestlers and taleems are turning to Matt as major International Sports event uses Matt for wrestling like Olympics. Old and Big taleems have both Matt and Mud for practice and is practiced alternately and the tradition is kept alive. The sport again got its grip after India won a series of Medals in international events, especially Olympics. Still, regional tournaments are organized on Mud Akhadas during festivals and tournaments in Kolhapur