All you need to know about Chhatrasal Akhada that has given India six Olympic medals in wrestling
The Chhatrasal Akhara, located in New Delhi's Model Town, was founded in 1987 by Satpal Singh, better known as Guru Satpal or Mahabali Satpal, a former wrestler who won the gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games.
Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, and now Aman Sehrawat... These are the names of men who have won Olympic medals for India in freestyle wrestling. That is not the only thing the five men have in common. All of them learned the tricks of the trade at the same place¡ªthe Chhatrasal Stadium, also known as Chhatrasal Akhara, in New Delhi.
CREDIT: SATPAL AKHADA
Chhatrasal Akhada
The Chhatrasal Akhada, located in New Delhi's Model Town, was founded in 1987 by Satpal Singh, better known as Guru Satpal or Mahabali Satpal, a former wrestler who won the gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games.
Five medalists, six Olympic medals
Since then, the Chhatrasal Akhada at Chhatrasal Stadium has become the home turf for some of the best wrestlers India has produced. To date, Chhatrasal Akhada has six Olympic medals to its credit: a bronze and silver by Sushil Kumar, a bronze by Yogeshwar Dutt, a bronze by Bajrang Punia, a silver by Ravi Dahiya, and now another bronze by Aman Sehrawat.
CREDIT: ANI
Legacy of Mahabali Satpal
The 69-year-old Satpal, who was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1974 and the Padma Shri in 1983 for his performances on the mat, was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2009 for his role as a wrestling coach.
What Mahabali Satpal said about Aman Sehrawat
As one more of his prot¨¦g¨¦s made the country proud on the world stage, Satpal was elated.
¡°Kamaal kardiya ladhke ne (The boy has done wonders). It was a superb performance by him. His performance can be attributed to his training; he was great in all aspects of the bout, be it attack or defense,¡± Satpal told IANS.
Also read: Who is Aman Sehrawat? All you need to know about India's youngest Olympic medalist
CREDIT: SATPAL AKHADA
¡°All four of his bouts were great; this was a very important medal for wrestling and India. This is my fifth student¡¯s medal, and I feel young once again. He is so nice and hardworking that I sometimes have to stop him from overexerting himself,¡± he added.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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