Wrestling in Pakistan, known locally as ''koshti'' ( ur, ), has been practiced since ancient times, mainly in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

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Pehlwani Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words ''pe ...

) and

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

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Malakhra Malakhro ( sd, ملاکڙو) is an ancient Sindhi form of wrestling in Sindh, which dates back 5000 years. The match begins with both wrestlers tying a twisted cloth around the opponent's waist. Each one then holds onto the opponent's waist cloth ...

Type

Pehlwani (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi: ) is a form of wrestling mainly based in

. It was developed during the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

by combining

varzesh-e bastani Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni ( fa, آیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای, "heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni (; , "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics a ...

with

malla-yuddha Malla-yuddha (Sanskrit: मल्लयुद्ध, ) is the traditional form of combat-wrestling originating in India. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles such as naban and is one of the two ancestors of kushti. Indian wr ...

. In the 16th century, Punjab was conquered by the Central Asian

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, who were of

Turko-Mongol The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually a ...

descent. Through the influence of

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and

Mongolian wrestling Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Бөх or Үндэсний бөх), is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other th ...

, they modified

, thereby creating Pehlwani.

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

, the first Mughal emperor, was a wrestler himself and could reportedly run very fast for a long distance while holding a man under each arm. Mughal-era wrestlers sometimes even wore

bagh naka The bagh nakh, vagh nakh, or vagh nakhya ( mr, वाघनख / वाघनख्या, bn, বাঘনখ, hi, बाघ नख, ur, باگھ نکھ, lit. tiger claw) is a "fist-load, claw-like" dagger, originating from the Indian subcontin ...

on one hand, in a variation called ''naki ka kushti'' or "claw wrestling". This form of wrestling mimics the Persian

Pahlavani Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni ( fa, آیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای, "heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni (; , "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics a ...

style of wrestling, but differs slightly in training methods and techniques. Official titles awarded to koshti champions are

Rustam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...

, a hero's name of the Persian ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

'' epic. Wrestlers who compete in Pehlwani are referred to as ''pehlwan'' ().

Malakhro (Sindhi)

Malakhro ( sd, ملاکڙو) is the

i form of sport wrestling, as opposed to

or combat-wrestling. It is mostly played in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The match begins with both wrestlers tying a twisted cloth around the opponent's waist. Each one then holds onto the opponent's waistcloth and tries to throw him to the ground. Malakhra is one of the favorite sports among males in

. Malakhro matches are generally held on holidays and Fridays and are a feature of all fairs and festivals. Rich feudal lords and influential persons maintain famous ''Malhoo'' (wrestlers) and organize matches for them. Wrestlers who compete in Malakhra are referred to as ''malho'' () or ''mulh'' ().

Katch

Baluchistan Province Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

Regimen

Wrestlers usually begin formal training in their teens. A typical training day usually begins at Fajr when temperatures are cooler and begin with running and exercises, followed by exercises and lifting, oiling and diet.

Running and exercises

Physical training is meant to build strength and develop muscle bulk and flexibility. Most wrestlers employ their own body weight to exercise by doing sit ups,

danda In Indic scripts, the daṇḍa (Sanskrit: दण्ड ' "stick") is a punctuation mark. The glyph consists of a single vertical stroke. Use The daṇḍa marks the end of a sentence or line, comparable to a full stop (period) as commonly u ...

and

bethak A squat is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers their hips from a standing position and then stands back up. During the descent and knee joints flex while the ankle joint dorsiflexes; conversely the hip and knee joints extend and ...

. ''Sawari'' () is the practice of using another person's body weight to add resistance to such exercises. Exercise regimens may employ the following weight training devices: *The ''nal'' is a hollow stone cylinder with a handle inside. *The ''gar nal'' (neck weight) is a circular stone ring worn around the neck to add resistance to ''danda'' and ''bethak''. *Exercise clubs introduced by the Mughals. Exercise regimens may also include ''dhakuli'' which involve twisting rotations, rope climbing, log pulling and running. Massage is regarded an integral part of a wrestler's exercise regimen.

Oiling

Every "pehlwan" or "mulh" needs to oil his body on a daily basis to ensure strength and agility during the fight. "Oiling is essential, if we don’t oil our body, we will not have the strength. It can be any oil though," said Behram.

Diet

The diet of most wrestlers in Pakistan is based on ''khurak-e-pehlwan'' ( ur, ) which include a healthy daily serving of milk, clarified butter ( or ''ghee'') and ground almonds. These foods compose the "holy trinity" of a wrestler’s diet. Wrestlers also consume a healthy diet of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

and a special boiled chicken soup ( or ''yakhni''). In a typical day, it was not unusual for a wrestler to consume half a pound of ghee and almonds for breakfast, a pound of meat soup made from one chicken, and two loaves of bread for lunch. The same again was eaten for dinner. A large hearty meal was followed by a drought of a cool drink (‘thandai’) made of mixed substances, usually milk, nuts and fruits. Ideally, wrestlers are supposed to avoid sour and excessively spiced foods as well as

chaat Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in North India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in North India, Pakistan, Nepal and ...

. Mild seasoning with garlic, cumin, coriander, and turmeric is acceptable. The consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and

paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects. The practice ...

is strongly discouraged.

Techniques

It has been said that most of the moves found in the wrestling forms of other countries are present in kushti, and some are unique to South Asia. These are primarily locks, throws, pins, and submission holds. Unlike its ancient ancestor

, kushti does not permit strikes or kicks during a match. Among the most favoured maneuvres are the ''dhobi paat'' (shoulder throw) and the ''kasauta'' (strangle pin). Other moves include the ''baharli'', ''dhak'', ''machli gota'' and the ''multani''.

Rules

Wrestling competitions, known as ''dangal'' or ''kushti'', are held in villages and as such are variable and flexible. The arena is either a circular or square shape, measuring at least fourteen feet across. Rather than using modern mats, South Asian wrestlers train and compete on dirt floors. Before training, the floor is raked of any pebbles or stones. Buttermilk, oil, and red ochre are sprinkled to the ground, giving the dirt its red hue. Water is added every few days to keep it at the right consistency; soft enough to avoid injury but hard enough so as not to impede the wrestlers' movements. Every match is preceded by the wrestlers throwing a few handfuls of dirt from the floor on themselves and their opponent as a form of blessing. Despite the marked boundaries of the arena, competitors may go outside the ring during a match with no penalty. There are no rounds but the length of every bout is specified beforehand, usually about 25–30 minutes. If both competitors agree, the length of the match may be extended. Match extensions are typically around 10–15 minutes. A win is achieved by pinning the opponent's shoulders and hips to the ground simultaneously, although victory by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

, stoppage or

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

is also possible. In some variations of the rules, only pinning the shoulders down is enough. Bouts are overseen by a referee inside the ring and a panel of two judges watching from the outside.

References

{{Wrestling in Pakistan