Coliseum of champions: Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi is a sought-after name in the wrestling world – Sports News

When it comes to getting his two teenaged grandsons to rigorously train for wrestling, Rajendra Singh’s choice of akhada is clear. “Hamaare yahaan kaee akaadamiyaan hain, ham ise vahaan nahin karvana chahte. Karayenge toh yahin se, banenge toh yahin se,” says the 68-year-old second-generation wrestler who chaperones the two youngsters every day from Sonipat in Haryana to Chhatrasal Akhada in the national capital. Loosely translated, Singh’s comment means: “We have many wrestling academies at our place (in Sonipat), but we don’t want to get them trained there. We will get it done here; they will become (champions) here.”

Singh’s resolve is not unfounded. Chhatrasal Akhada, located on the premises of Chhatrasal Stadium in the Model Town area of Delhi, has been grooming budding wrestlers to become champions for over three decades now. With a legacy of producing Olympic winners—six of the eight wrestling medallists so far, to be precise—and a training regimen that blends tradition with modernity, the akhada attracts wrestlers from far and wide, currently housing over 160 youngsters.

In fact, the winning streak has been consistent since Sushil Kumar broke the 56-year-long drought with his bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cut to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Aman Sehrawat—who lost his parents as a child and later made Chhatrasal his home—became the youngest Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal.

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“I am happy but not satisfied with a bronze medal. I want to win a gold for the country. I started planning for 2028 the moment the Paris bout was over,” says Sehrawat, as he sets his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Sehrawat came to Chhatrasal at a young age of 10 years. He had no one in his family to support him financially as he lost both his parents within six months of arriving at the stadium. There, he sought support from senior wrestler and friend Sagar Phalswal and got inspiration from akhada founder Satpal Singh and the first Olympic medallist from the stadium, Sushil Kumar, besides guidance from coaches.

“Aman ne Bharat ki kushti ko ek aise mukaam par pahuncha diya ki yahi charcha ho rahi hai ki Chhatrasal mein aisa kya hai (Aman has raised the bar of Indian wrestling to such an extent that everyone is wondering what is the deal with Chhatrasal)”, says a beaming Satpal Singh, 69.

Wearing his iconic hat and sitting in the living room of his residence in Delhi, the Padma Bhushan awardee narrates the story of how the nursery of Indian wrestlers grew since India’s Olympic medal in 2008.

The tempo, pace and pitch of his voice start gaining momentum as he goes on to talk about the Olympic medallists, calling upon around 1 lakh akhadas of the country and their coaches to aim for nothing less than a gold medal for 2028. 

Obviously, it’s been a long journey for Chhatrasal to beat the naysayers and now only a gold medal is left to be achieved. “Tab toh kuchh bhi nahi tha, mitti mein the (There was nothing then). When we used to do press conferences and introduce Sushil (Kumar) and Yogeshwar (Dutt) as Olympic medal hopefuls, people from the media used to laugh. Wo kehte pahalwanji toh Olympic se neeche baat hi nahin karte (They used to say I wouldn’t talk about anything less than an Olympic medal),” Satpal recalls. 

Quest for success

Satpal Singh was a national champion for 16 years. He achieved international success at Commonwealth Games, winning three silver medals in 1974, 1978 and 1982, respectively. In Asian Games, too, he improved his performance at successive games, winning a bronze in 1974, a silver in 1978 and peaked with a gold in 1982.

Satpal also represented India at two Olympic Games—Munich in 1972 and Moscow in 1980. However, he failed to win a medal. That propelled him to establish the akadha. “I wanted to do something for Indian wrestling. The longing for an Olympic medal, which my guru Hanuman ji (Vijay Pal Yadav) had dreamt of, was burning in my heart,” he says. 

Founded in 1988, the humble stadium in Delhi’s Model Town has now become a go-to place for budding wrestlers, not just from Haryana and Delhi, but also from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka. Ask anyone why they came to Chhatrasal, and they would promptly say—to win an Olympic medal.

In fact, it’s the institutional knowledge that makes Chhatrasal what it is today. Satpal says Sushil’s 2008 watershed moment changed the direction of Indian wrestling. He says Aman, too, trained with Sushil and continues to inspire the wrestlers at the stadium. 

However, keeping the medal spree alive is not easy though, says coach Lalit Kumar. “It is easy to say that a medal is guaranteed from Chhatrasal, but discipline is the key here. We fixate on regular practice and discipline at Chhatrasal,” he says.

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya also came to Chhatrasal when he was just 10 years. He is now working as an assistant director in the education department of Delhi government posted at the stadium. Recovering from a knee injury, he is also focusing on his fitness. 

One of the most important aspects of the culture of the akadha, he highlights, is that of togetherness. “Whether one is a medallist or someone new, they practice together. Achievers and champions share their knowledge and motivate the rest. The young wrestlers learn from the achievers. When they bring medals, it reassures them that they are doing something right,” he adds. 

The institutional knowledge of learning new techniques is the result of a system put in place by the team of coaches, says Satpal, “Coaches make them (medallists) stand on the mat and ask what new technique they learned and ask the young wrestlers to observe.” This culture of sharing knowledge and techniques is interwoven in the ecosystem of Chhatrasal.

A nursery of winners

Enter the gate and take a right turn—the way to the parking lot of the stadium is where the young wrestlers practice on the rope hanging down from the iron rod supporting the ceiling of the ramp. In the evening and morning, wrestlers can be seen training hard, going all the way to the top where a big poster celebrating Aman’s recent victory has been put up.

Walk a little more and at the entrance of the parking lot, there is an akhada on the left where heavyweight wrestlers practice, and a tiny door right in front leads up to to a big portion of the area which has been separated to appear like a big hall. This is where mats have been kept along with the gym equipment. The wrestlers spend their maximum time here. When this reporter visited the area, it was raining and leakages could be seen from the roof with buckets placed to contain the water. 

They spar on the mat, pull up along the hanging ropes on the ramp, and play basketball outside. Some of them, whose practice gets over, go back back to their rooms. Children as young as 10 make their badam milk in the mortar and have juice at a small stall installed near their rooms. In the corner is a small mess where only vegetarian food is cooked on a clay stove. Their diet is based on milk and ghee, following the system put in place by founder Satpal, who is a big proponent of “ghee, doodh and desi ghee ka khana.” Cooking on a clay stove is a conscious choice, he says, because it retains more nutrients compared to a gas stove.

It’s a residential academy where wrestlers and some coaches live in the rooms constructed in a portion of the stadium. Each small room with an attached bathroom and a tiny kitchen is shared by at least 10 wrestlers. Some wrestlers who have won medals share rooms with just two others. Vicky Chahar, a 25-year-old heavyweight category wrestler from the Indian Air Force, also preparing for the Olympics, has been living at the stadium for eight years. He has brought laurels for the country in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games and shares the room with two other wrestlers. He considers this facility much better than other akhadas where there are issues of electricity and water. “In wrestling, struggle is important to toughen up,” coach Gulia believes.

A seven-storeyed hostel is being constructed near the stadium which, the coach says, will be operational by next year. In terms of facilities, we will be on a par with international standards, comments Ravi. 

A strict routine is followed at the akhada focused on rigorous training. Discipline is key and no distractions are allowed, including the use of mobile phones. Only senior players and those who work have been allowed phones.

The routine of Olympians, which includes individual practice of at least two-and-a-half hours daily beyond the sessions, invokes a sense of competition among those whose eyes are focused on the Olympic medals.

Coaches say they get up at 4.30 every morning, train and practice till 9 am and then again from 4 pm till 7.30 pm to be able to sleep by 10.30 pm. The training includes running, sprints, uthak-baithak (squats), pull-ups along the hanging ropes, sparring on the mat, physical exercise, strength training at the gym, and 100-200 gm of badam milk twice a day. Take a stroll outside the rooms and you can see milk spilled over the ground as children prepare them on their own in the mortar. This is the routine that is followed daily. They also take tuition classes and study in the nearby schools and colleges. Some also have jobs. The young wrestlers participate in school-level championships to help raise funds. They compete with each other weekly to assess their progress and keep tabs on their weight. 

Coach Ashok Sharma says it’s the teamwork that brings success and everyone is involved in preparing a wrestler—some provide motivation, some help with training, and others with coaching. For instance, Harful Gulia, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist who now works with the Air Force and was Sushil’s sparring partner, came to Chhatrasal with the aim of an Olympic medal but could not achieve it. He, however, helped Aman in his bouts. He is one among the many senior wrestlers who help train wrestlers like Aman. The environment at Chhatrasal is of belongingness, guru-shishya parampara, and brotherhood. The wrestlers consider their coaches as gurus, touch their feet whenever they spot them, and follow their words. 

Financial support

Coaches say they have been getting support from the government as it is a government-funded facility. The government also supports Olympic probables under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) which was started in 2014. 

Dutt, who now runs his academy named after him with coach Ramphal Mann (one of the early coaches of Chhatrasal) at the helm, says this helped change the wrestling scene in India with the 2016 Rio Olympics. Under the scheme, the Olympic probables are selected and provided with financial support with a Rs 50,000 monthly stipend along with foreign training, international competition, equipment, and coaching camp. The Haryana government also offers Rs 6 crore to Olympic gold medallists, Rs 4 crore to silver medallists, and Rs 2.5 crore to bronze medal winners. Sports foundations like OGQ and JSW have also been sponsoring wrestlers. 

However, this is like feeding someone who is already full, says Dutt. He flags the problem of unorganised funding and sponsorships in wrestling and the lack of them at the grassroots level. “Not all wrestling academies in the country have proper diet and mess facilities. Some individual kids might get sponsorship but the benefit doesn’t go to the akhada/ academy,” he says. Many private akhadas in the country manage funds on their own. Dutt used Rs 5 crore given by the government as an Olympian to buy land and build his academy. He emphasises the need for private investments in wrestling at the grassroots level.

“There is a need to focus on the grassroots. As long as we don’t have gold medal potential, we cannot do well in the medal tally. Government alone cannot do this with a population of 140 crore, private akhadas should be supported,” he says. 

Satpal explains if a child is 48 kg, he will require at least Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 on diet. Similarly, for someone who is 68 kg, he will require Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. Coaching, physio, and supplements are expensive and, on an average, Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 get spent on a senior wrestler’s diet a month, he adds.

Destination 2028 

Paris Games may have recently got over but at Chhatrasal, preparations are on in full swing for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, US. Aman says he will focus on his defence and leg attack. “At Chhatrasal, one doesn’t have to think about Olympic medals, it’s a given fact that medals have been coming from this stadium consistently, so we will also be able to win. We are thinking along the lines of bringing a gold, medal is anyway a sure thing”, says Aman. This feeling resonates with all the wrestlers who are preparing with just the Olympics in mind. 

Coaches and existing medallists alike say it’s unpredictable to name the medal hopefuls for 2028 as a lot can happen in four years. However, they say there are 17-18 wrestlers who have the potential to qualify for the Olympics, including existing Olympians Aman, Ravi and Deepak Punia. Coaches have high hopes from a young wrestler Raunak Dahiya, who recently won his second medal with a bronze in the Greco-Roman 110 kg category at the Under-17 World Wrestling Championships in Jordan. “We have brought silver and bronze medals, now only gold remains. I will fulfill that dream too,” says Raunak, as he explains how coaches are making them undergo rigorous training for 3-4 hours daily in the morning and evening. 

“This boy will do great things for the country and bring medals,” coach Jaivir is confident, pointing out how getting a medal in the heavyweight category is difficult and he has won medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. “It’s a rare capability in any wrestler.”

Meanwhile, Ravi, who faced Aman during the trials in the 57 kg category, says there are chances that his weight category can change by the end of this year, and he’ll plan his strategy for the Olympics accordingly. “I’ll try to do better than silver,” he hopes. What is the strength of Indian wrestlers? The stamina. “We strive to play the complete 6-minute bout.” 

Coach Lalit says there are at least five young wrestlers in the 57 kg alone and there can be more in the next four years. Other than Raunak, he talks about wrestler Ankush who won gold in the U-17 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 57kg freestyle and a bronze medal in the recently-concluded 2024 U20 World Championships. “These are new wrestlers, if they do good at the junior level, they will do well at the senior level too. At the next trial, anyone can compete with Aman because they are working hard. It depends on what performances happen in the four years and at the trials,” he says.

Children have to start young, says Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt and a former student of the akhada. “They learn the basics by the time they become seniors and then they can focus on their performance and techniques.” Perhaps this is why they flock to Chhatrasal to learn from the best.

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