Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and Aman Sehrawat -- India's last five winners of Olympic medals in men's wrestling (the only other was KD Jadhav, in 1952). But there's something else that connects this most illustrious group of Indian sportsmen: Chhatrasal Stadium.
All of them were trained, had their skills finessed, in Chhatrasal, the legendary residential academy (akhada is the more apt name) situated in north-west Delhi. It's not an exaggeration to call it the country's wrestling nursery, where aspiring wrestlers, mainly from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, come as children and spend years here learning the sport. And when they win laurels, as so many have done, each of them credits their success to Chhatrasal.
Situated in the congested Model Town neighbourhood, there's little indication from the outside of its legendary status. The boundary walls are adorned with the neatly painted faces of Subhas Chandra Bose, Neeraj Chopra, and Ravi Dahiya - the only clues that it could be a sporting facility. It's only the imposing 10-feet-high black iron gate structure that bears the name and give it away.
Walking in, you'll see a basketball court and kabaddi court on the outside and a running track and football field surrounded by a 16,000-seater stand. The stadium hosted football club Sudeva FC's I-League matches last year, state athletics events are held on the running track, and it's also been used for local events and Independence Day celebrations.
But what catches your attention is the beeline of muscular young men marching towards a ramp that leads to an underground hall. The indoor training hall - located in what used to be a car parking lot - is the heartbeat of the campus, where those five Olympic medals were made.
The pedigree is so rich it deserves mentioning again:
Sushil Kumar: India's most successful wrestler at the Olympics with two medals and India's first wrestling world champion.
Yogeshwar Dutt: Bronze medallist at the 2012 London Games
Bajrang Punia: Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and the only Indian wrestler ever to have four World Championship medals
Ravi Dahiya: Only the second Indian wrestler ever to win an Olympic silver medal
And now Aman, bronze medallist at 22 and reckoned to have a bright future ahead of him
The institutional knowledge - the fact that generations of wrestling greats have been groomed here - is one reason for Chhatrasal's status. What probably makes the place truly unique, though, is its democratic way of functioning: no matter who you are, you're still treated the same as others. Legend has it that Sushil used to sleep on the floor, without any AC, before his Olympic medals.
It's why in a few days from now, despite having an Olympic medal to his name, Aman will happily return to his 40-square-foot room in the campus - a room that he shares with two others. The room is filled with inspirational writing and messages on the wall; there's a tiny pantry attached; the washroom is a 30m walk away.
Aman's success predates the Olympics - he was the first Indian male ever to win the U23 World Championships and is an Arjuna Awardee, but he's not received any special treatment. He trains with everyone else, getting up at the crack of dawn for the morning session, doing 600-1000 uthak baithaks (sit-ups) with everyone else, climbing the ropes and grappling on the sand pits before heading to the mat - and then doing it again in the evening.
"For us, everyone is equal here," says Aman's coach Lalit Kumar while pointing to a 17-year-old wrestler. That's Ankush, who is Chhatrasal's next-big-thing in the 57kg category, part of this assembly line.
And that has a lot to do with the kind of legends they grow up around. Each budding wrestler goes through a rigorous trial conducted by the coaches and are accepted only if they display their potential. Wrestlers are accepted to the institution from the age of 10 and they attend schools nearby. It's important for them to attend school as that allows them to compete at school-level tournaments and that in turn helps the academy raise funds.
The academy was founded by Dronacharya awardee Satpal Singh in 1988. After winning three consecutive silvers at the Commonwealth Games and a gold at the 1982 Asian Games, Satpal was appointed as a deputy director in the education department of the Delhi government [Ravi Dahiya holds the same post now].
Satpal wasn't able to medal in two Olympics and wanted to fulfill his coach Vijay Pal Yadav, aka Guru Hanuman's dream of an Olympic medal and that's how the idea of the akhada was born: with the sole aim of winning Olympic medals for India. The results are there to see.
Inside the home of Indian wrestling: Chhatrasal Stadium ft. Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat ��
LINK: https://t.co/22eCZqC6Ul#Olympics | #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/APbt3DsCM2
- Shyam Vasudevan (@JesuisShyam) August 12, 2024
Even today, the wrestlers pay a reasonable monthly fee of ₹3000 rupees, which takes care of their training, nutrition (unlimited non-spicy food with lots of desi ghee) and stay. It's a meagre sum considering what they get in return: a chance to learn from and train alongside India's biggest wrestlers. Aman, for example, joined as a 10-year-old and learnt the sport by watching Sushil. He would train on the same mats, do the same exercises and eat the same food as Sushil, which made him believe that one day he could do what Sushil was doing at the global stage.
The senior wrestlers are encouraged to help the younger ones in whatever way possible: for example, if one of the senior wrestlers is sponsored by a protein supplement brand or an apparel brand, he shares the stuff he gets with the three or four juniors attached with him. That helps the juniors grow and it doesn't affect the seniors since they get a lot more. That's why you'll see most of the wrestlers wearing branded wrestling outfits or guzzling on protein shakes; the system within the system makes it happen.
There are no real material comforts at Chhatrasal, you're built to be tough. When this writer visited the stadium in June, he saw a 10-year-old, among the youngest there, weeping while being comforted by his three friends. "Ghar ki yaad aa rahi hai" he wept. The coaches then cajoled him into feeling better, but that's how life is here. It isn't easy. That's how Aman was when he came here as a 10-year-old; he lost his parents soon after and stayed on. It's not ideal or comforting, but it's all part of the process that eventually turns them into world-beating wrestlers.
There's a new complex being built on the premises that's expected to be completed by next year. The seven-storey tower will have rooms with central air-conditioning and indoor training halls, which would add a modern touch to the current desi systems in place. Currently, some of the rooms are shared by over 10 juniors, while the senior wrestlers with big medals to their names, are allotted rooms on a three-sharing basis with a window AC unit.
There is a seamy side to the campus that has also made headlines in the recent past. The most famous case involved Sushil Kumar - the two-time Olympic medallist was arrested on murder charges after a brawl on the campus led to the death of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankhar. Sushil is currently in Tihar Jail awaiting trial.
More recently, an incident in May saw a player assault a coach, which left the coach with multiple stitches. In response, the number of students has been reduced - until recently, batches used to have 250 students, but it's been limited to 150 recently - and wrestlers now have to be back inside the campus by 9pm. The security at the entrance has also been stepped up.
But that does not change Chhatrasal's illustrious track record and it's a personal victory for Satpal, who was taunted when he launched the academy 36 years ago. "Medal ped pe latka hai kya? [do medals grow on trees?]" he was chided. The naysayers didn't stop him or the wrestlers from doing what they had to do.
"Chhatrasal is truly the home of Indian wrestling and has it all - Olympic medals, junior world champions, cadet champions, Arjuna awardees, Padma Shri awardees and Dronacharya awardees...all that's missing is an Olympic gold. Aman will win that in 2028," says Satpal.