Some Lesser Known Facts About Gama Pehalwan

• He was born to one of the clans of an indigenous Kashmiri wrestling family from Jabbowal village in Amritsar.

• His family was known for its world-class wrestlers.

• When Gama was six Gama was devastated by the loss of his dad, Muhammad Aziz Baksh, who was also a renowned wrestler.
• Following the death of his father, the wrestler and maternal grandpa Nun Pahalwan looked after the boy, and following Nun Pahalwan’s demise the wrestler was placed under the supervision of Uncle Ida another wrestler who provided Gama his first instruction in wrestling.
• In 1888 in 1888, aged 10 years old, Gama got noticed for the first time after he took part in an athletic competition in Jodhpur. The contest was a success, Gama was among the 15 last competitors. The Maharaja from Jodhpur had been so inspired by Gama’s feat that he declared Gama the winner owing to his young age.

• The Maharaja of Datia sent him to Datia for training.

• According to reports of his daily training, Gama used to grapple with 40 other wrestlers on the court. Gama also did 5000 Baithaks (squats) and 3000 Dands (pushups) during the course of a single day.

• According to some sources, his diet as consisting of 2 gallons (7.5 L) of dairy, six desi chickens as well as over a pound of crushed almond paste, which was later made into a drinking tonic.
• According to a different source, during a trip to the Baroda state to participate in an event in wrestling the wrestler lifted one stone that was more than 1,200 pounds. The stone is now stored at the Baroda Museum.

• In 1895 aged 17 years old, Gama was a challenger to Raheem Bakhsh Sultaniwala (the former Indian Wrestling Champion), another ethnic Kashmiri wrestler from Gujranwala currently situated in Punjab, Pakistan. Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala, was a middle-aged man who was nearly 7 feet tall. He also had a record of excellence. The fight lasted for several hours and ended with an unbeatable draw.

• The fight that Gama had with Raheem Bakhsh Sultaniwala marked the turning point of Gama’s professional career.

• In 1910, with the exception of Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala Gama beat all notable Indian wrestlers that he had faced.

• After his domestic success, Gama started focusing his focus on the rest of the world.

• To take on the Western Wrestlers Gama traveled to England with Gama’s younger brother Imam Bakhsh. Due to his diminutive height, the wrestler was unable to gain an immediate entrance.
• In London He made an offer to throw any three wrestlers within 30 minutes of any weight class, however, nobody reacted because they thought it was a fraud.

• Additionally, Gama specifically challenged Stanislaus Zbyszko as well as Frank Gotch that either show up or they will give away the prize cash.

• American wrestling champion Benjamin Roller was the first one to meet Gama’s challenge. Gama took him down in one minute and 40 seconds in the first time, and 9 minutes and 10 seconds the second. The following morning, Gama gained entry to the tournament following his victory over 12 wrestlers.

• On September 10, 1910, during the semi-finals at the John Bull World Championships in London, Gama faced world champion Stanislaus Zbyszko. The contest was PS250 (Rs22000) for prize cash. After more than three hours of fighting, Zbyszko wrestled the great Gama to an end in a draw.

• The next time, Zbyszko as well as Gama were scheduled to compete with one another, Zbyszko didn’t show up and Gama was declared the winner.

• While traveling to Western regions, Gama defeated some of the most revered grapplers of the world: Maurice Deriaz of France, “Doc” Benjamin Roller of the United States, Jesse Peterson (World Champion) from Sweden as well as Johann Lemm (the European Champion) from Switzerland.

• In the match against Benjamin Roller, Gama threw at him 13 times during the 15 minutes of play.

• After beating a few of the famous grapplers around the world, Gama issued a challenge to the other wrestlers who claimed to hold the World Champion’s Title which included George Hackenschmidt of Russia, Japanese Judo champion Taro Miyake and Frank Gotch of the United States. However, all three refused to accept his invitation.

• At some time, Gama offered to fight 20 English wrestlers in a row but no one was willing to accept the challenge.

• When Gama returned to India following his departure from England, Gama faced Raheem Bakhsh Sultaniwala in Allahabad. After a long battle between the two, Gama emerged as the winner and was awarded the title of “Rustam-e-Hind.”

• If asked who was his best adversaries, Gama replied, “Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala.”
• On the night of 1916, Gama beat another top wrestler from India, Pandit Biddu.

• In 1922, while Gama, the Prince of Wales was on a visit to India In 1922, the Prince of Wales presented Gama with the silver mace.

• Up to 1927 Gama had not faced any opponents. But, in the next few days, the announcement was made in 1927 that Gama and Zbyszko were set to meet for a second time. In the fight in January 1928, in Patiala, Gama defeated Zbyszko within just a minute and took an Indian edition of the World Wrestling Championship. After the match, Zbyszko referred to Gama as”a “tiger.”

• The last fight Gama engaged in during his career was against Jesse Petersen in February 1929. The fight lasted for just 1 1/2 minutes, in which Gama was the winner.
• In the 40s at the request of the Nizam in Hyderabad, Gama defeated all his opponents. In the following years, Nizam sent him to take on the grappler Balram Heeraman Singh Yadav who had never been defeated throughout his career. After a long struggle, Gama was not able to beat him, and ultimately neither wrestler was victorious.

• Following the split of India in 1947 Gama relocated to Pakistan.

• In 1952, the year he retired, Gama failed to find any other rivals.

• Following retiring, Gama trained his nephew Bholu Pahalwan, who held the Pakistani wrestling championship for nearly twenty years.

• In his final moments, Gama suffered from a chronic disease and was unable to fund his medical treatment. To aid him, G. D. Birla an industrialist and an avid wrestler, offered his money to the charity and also provided him with a monthly income of $300. It was the Government of Pakistan also supported his medical expenses up to the time of his death.

• A doughnut-shaped exercise disk, which was utilized by Gama for squats, has been on display in the National Institute of Sports (NIS) Museum in Patiala.

• According to the reports, Bruce Lee was a frequent follower of Gama’s regimen.

• Here’s a peek at Gama Pehalwan’s fight:

• On the 22nd of May, 2022 Doodle images of the Google search engine praised the achievements of Gama Pehalwan.

For an in-depth account of Gama Pehalwan’s life, click here: