Confluence of mud and mat wrestling—the Indian style akhara bouts and grappling on mats with wrestlers wearing full body costumes and shoes—is a sight to behold, but has this big budget Maharashtra Kesari competition that brings together people from faraway hinterlands served purpose that is being trumpeted often? Certainly not.
Given the kind of political backing it has, Maharashtra Kesari has failed on the key aspect--of creating world class wrestlers ready face the challenges of international stage.
Just glancing through India’s wrestling contingents to major multi-sports events such as Olympic Games and Asian Games gives a fair idea that Maharashtra—once the force in wrestling—had no representation at these games.
Over the years, Haryana has gone ahead leaps and bound in creating wrestlers like on a conveyor belt.
It was sometime is early 2000s that Haryana completely banned mud wrestling for even district-level competitions. Akharas in villages continued at their own pace but when a coach would spot a talent worth nurturing, the wrestlers would be shifted to mat and trained on it.
The results are there for everyone to see. There has been absolutely no wrestler to emerge from Maharashtra in the last two decades who could be termed as Olympic medal hope.
The list of Maharashtra Kesari winners over last one decade is in itself a proof that not even one wrestler has managed to get into Indian team and qualify for the Olympic Games. There was only one exception though—Narsinh Yadav, but even as he qualified for Rio Olympics, he had to be dropped following the dope saga.
