Individual Games

W restling History Wrestling has a prominent place in the Olympic Games and considered as one of the oldest forms of combat. It is believed that pictures of combating sports like wrestling were depicted in , -year-old cave drawings found in France. Early Egyptians and Babylonians were also believed to be using the same techniques for the purpose of exhibiting their superiority over others. Wrestling was also very popular in Greece.

It was developed by ancient Greeks as a way to train soldiers in hand-to-hand combat and military exercises. As per records found in the history of wrestling, it was year when the first national wrestling tournament was hosted at New York City. During the first Olympic Games, only one event in free style wrestling was introduced. It was until Saint Louis Olympic Games in , where the free style wrestling competition was hosted in five categories.

In Olympic Games, Greco Roman wrestling was also introduced in five weight categories but the number was increased up to eleven categories in later years. The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) was founded in the year at Antwerp, Belgium. Norway hosted the first world women’s wrestling championship in the year1987 and women wrestling was included in the Olympic Games . Wrestling in India Wrestling has been popular in India since ancient times; it was mainly an exercise to stay physically fit.

The wrestlers, traditionally, use to wear a linen cloth called Langota . The real name which was used for the technique similar to wrestling in India was Malla Yuddh. One of the premier characters of the epic Mahabharata was Bhima, he was considered to be a great wrestler of that time. Jarasangha, Duryodhana, Karna and Balarama were included as other great wrestlers during Mahabharata.

In an other Indian epic Ramayana , Hanuman is described as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Governing Body The governing body of the wrestling game at international level is known as United World Wrestling (UWW). Earlier, wrestling Do You Know? Vinesh Phogat is the first woman wrestler of India to win gold at Asian Games.

Activity . Collect information about the wrestlers of India and their achievement at international wrestling. game was governed by International Amateur Wrestling Federation, meant basically for the amateur wrestlers. Wrestling game in India is governed by a controlling body named Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which was registered on 27th January, under the Society Act of the Government of India.

The Wrestling Federation of India is the national governing body for the regulation of wrestling in India. Types of wrestling Free style Free style is a type of wrestling in which holds on whole body parts are allowed. Free style wrestling was one out of total nine events that were included in the first Olympic Games . Fig.

. : Free style wrestling Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman type of wrestling forbids holds below the waist; this is the major difference between Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. Greco-Roman is an international sport that was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in at Athens as an exhibition sport. Greco-Roman style of wrestling has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since .

Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in two minutes bout for three periods. A wrestler can also win by pinning down (or fall) the opponent without completing the full time bout or periods. Women’s wrestling was added to the summer Olympics, in , at St. Louis (Missouri), USA.

Do You Know? Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal at Summer Olympic Games in the year . Fig. .

: Greco-Roman wrestling Fundamentals of Wrestling Weight Categories There are different weight categories in wrestling for various age groups, at school level as well as at senior level. Wrestlers in the junior age category are allowed to participate in the competitions at senior level. However, in order to take part at senior level competition, wrestlers aged in the concerned year must provide a medical certificate and parental authorisation. Wrestlers aged in the year in question may not participate in senior competitions.

Weight categories are classified for the purpose of giving equal opportunity to every wrestler competing in the competition. Wrestling competition organised at international level for different age groups are: School Boys: – years Cadets: – years Juniors: – years Seniors (Under ): – years Seniors: Above years Table : Weight Categories up to Junior level S. No. School Boys School Girls Cadet Boys Cadet Girls Junior Boys Junior Girls .

. – – – – Table : Weight Categories up to Junior level S. No. Senior (Freestyle) Olympic (Freestyle) Senior (Greco- Roman) Olympic (Greco- Roman) Women (Freestyle Olympic) .

. / . / . / Table : New weight categories (boys) described by School Games Federation of India (SGFI) (from – ) Under (Freestyle Boys) Under (Freestyle and Greco- Roman Boys) Under (Freestyle) Boys Under (Greco- Roman) Boys – Costume of a Wrestler Singlet Contestants must appear on the edge of the mat, wearing an approved one-piece singlet of the colour assigned to them (red or blue).

It is forbidden to have a mixture of red and blue colours on the singlet. Activity . Collect information about Arjuna award winners in wrestling and discuss about the participation of Indian women in wrestling. Ear protectors If the wrestlers want, they can wear ear protectors, which must be approved by United World Wrestling (UWW) and must not contain any metal or have hard shells.

The referee can oblige a wrestler whose hair is too long, to wear ear protectors. Wrestling shoes Contestants must wear wrestling shoes, providing firm support for the ankles. The use of heels in shoes, nailed soles, shoes with buckles or any metallic part is prohibited. Measurement of Wrestling Arena The following measurements and wrestling terms are used to designate the various parts of the wrestling mat: •• The central circle indicates the middle of the mat, which is one meter in diameter.

•• The orange circle in the central surface of wrestling mat is called central wrestling area and is meters in diameter, from the inside measurement. •• The orange strip is meter wide. •• The area outside the orange circle is called protection area, which is . meter wide.

•• In all cases, the colour of the protection area will have to be different from the one of the mat. The coach of each athlete will be present in the same side of the mat. The red wrestler will be placed on the left side and the blue wrestler on the right side. Corner Corner m m m 1m .

m Central Wrestling Area Protection Area Passivity Zone Fig. . : Wrestling mat Rules The rules for wrestling usually change with the type of wrestling game being played. For instance, in Greco-Roman Wrestling, players cannot hold an opponent below the waist, but holding legs is generally allowed in Freestyle Wrestling.

Prohibitions •• Wrestling styles forbid the use of martial arts’ tactics. Strikes and kicks aren’t permitted. •• It is prohibited to wear the emblem or abbreviation of another country in the wrestling costume. •• It is prohibited to apply any greasy or sticky substance to the body.

•• It is prohibited to arrive at the mat perspiring at the beginning of the match and at the beginning of each period. •• It is prohibited to wear bandages on fingers, wrists, arms or ankles except in the case of injury and on doctor’s orders. These bandages must be covered with elastic straps. •• It is prohibited to wear any object that might cause injury to the opponent, such as rings, bracelets, prosthesis, piercing, etc.

•• It is prohibited to wear under-wired bras for women wrestler. Classification of points •• The prime objective of Olympic Wrestling is to put your opponent on their back or to pin the opponent to the ground. This is only applicable if any part of the shoulder or both shoulder blades of the opponent contact the mat for at least a period of two seconds. •• To encourage risk-taking during bouts, a wrestler who may unsuccessfully try to execute a hold but ends up in the ‘parterre’ position (hands and knees on the ground), the wrestler on above will not be awarded any point.

However, during a hold, if a defending wrestler initiates a counter-attack successfully, points would be awarded for the action. •• Three points are given to the near fall position for the player who gets the opponent to fall down but can’t pin down completely. These points are given when shoulders of the opponent are within inches of the mat (for at least seconds) or when one shoulder touches the mat and the other is at degree angle or when the wrestler is in high bridge. •• An offensive wrestler can also get a point in ‘danger position’.

A ‘danger position’ is the position when a defensive wrestler’s body assumes bridge position in order to be avoided being pinned down. A ‘danger Activity . Collect information about Dronacharya awardees and their contribution to Indian Wrestling. position’ is considered when the wrestler’s line of the back or shoulder is vertical or parallel to the mat, forming an angle of less than degrees, but the position is assumed only to resist the fall.

•• Points are awarded for the following— Takedown: Up to points are awarded if the opponent is taken down on the mat and the other player is controlling them. Escape: Up to point is given to a player who gets away from the mat or gets into a neutral position when pinned down. Reversal: points are given to the player who gains control of the opponent from underneath them. Near fall: points if the fall lasts for two seconds or points if it lasts for seconds.

Penalty Points: Up to points for illegal holds, and technical violations like going off the mat, grabbing clothing, locking or overlapping hands. Caution to a Wrestler Caution is given to the wrestler for the following actions during the competition— •• For fleeing the mat, fleeing a hold, refusal to start, and illegal hold be noted by awarding ( ). •• After each caution ( ), the opponent will automatically receive two points in Greco-Roman wrestling. •• After each caution ( ), the opponent will automatically receive one or two technical points in Freestyle wrestling depending on the gravity of the infraction.

•• In Greco-Roman wrestling, no point is granted to the opponent when a wrestler is warned for the second time for passivity. •• Offensive wrestler can get a penalty to lock hands (except cradles) around the torso of the defensive wrestler. •• It can only be done if the opponent is standing on their feet or close to the fall count. •• A referee will consider overlapping fingers as locked hands.

Technical Violation The referee can penalise the wrestler for the technical violation of the following rules— •• Going off the mat or forcing your opponent off the mat to avoid wrestling. •• Leaving the mat during the match without the referee’s permission. Activity . Collect information about budding wrestlers through Khelo India Programme.

Do You Know? The first wrestler of India to win a medal at Olympic Games was Khashaba Dabasaheb Jadhav in . •• Reporting to the mat not properly equipped or not ready to wrestle, or with the illegal equipment at the time of starting the match. •• Bringing roughness in the game unnecessarily.

•• Conducting oneself indecently. •• Incorrect starting position or false start. Points on Technical Violation •• The first and second time wrestler is penalised, the opponent is awarded point. •• The third time wrestler is penalised, the opponent is awarded points.

•• The fourth time the wrestler is penalised with disqualification from that bout. Duration of the Bout •• For school boys and cadets — two periods of minutes with a seconds break. •• For juniors and seniors — two periods of minutes with a seconds break. •• For all the competitions, the timing should be displayed on the scoreboards and shall start from to minutes for seniors and to minutes for schoolboys and cadets.

Criteria to Win •• A bout may be won by fall, withdrawal by injury, default, disqualification of the opponent, or by technical superiority through points. •• In case of tie by points, the winner will be declared by successively considering — the highest value of holds; the least amount of cautions; and the last technical point(s) scored. •• If nobody gets pinned, the wrestler who scored the most points during the match is declared as a winner. Match Officials In all competitions, the refereeing for each bout shall consist of— •• Mat Chairman •• Referee •• Judge Some of the great wrestlers produced by India are Master Chandgi Ram, Satpal, Kartar Singh, Ombir Singh, K.D.

Yadav, Palwinder Singh Cheema, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Geeta Phogat, Narsingh Yadav, Babita Kumari, Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari, Sumit Malik, etc. Activity . Collect information about all the Indian wrestlers who won medals at Olympic Games. W restling I.

Long Answer Questions . Differentiate between freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in detail. . Draw the labelled diagram of a wrestling playing mat.

. Discuss different age and weight categories in wrestling for male and female. . Discuss the various ways of winning points by a wrestler.

II. Short Answer Questions . List down the match officials in wrestling. .

Who was the first wrestler to win an Olympic medal? . What are the two types of wrestling styles? .

What is the name of the governing body of wrestling in India? . What does WFI stands for? .

What is the term used for wrestling costume? . What is the major difference between Greco-roman and free style wrestling? III.

Fill in the Blanks . The first national wrestling championship under WFI was held in . . Passivity zone is of m in width.

. First Indian male medallist in Olympics was . . First Indian woman medallist in Olympics was .

. is the only Indian wrestler to win two medals at the Olympics Games. IV. State whether True or False .

The registered office of wrestling federation of India is located in UT of Delhi. . Women wrestlers participated first time in Olympics after the gap of years of their male counterpart. .

In freestyle wrestling, the techniques are used only above the waist. . Wrestling is a combat sports originated from Martial Arts. .

Weight categories in Greco-Roman and freestyle are same.