Let’s read the full biography, biodata and net worth of, Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti. He started wrestling as a local wrestler, but he is now participating in popular competitions in his hometown in India.

Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti Biography

Wrestling is a family tradition that has been passed down through the Mahendra family for three generations. His forebears, including his father Babasaheb (R), his uncles, and his grandparents before him, were all wrestlers.

Wrestling was a family tradition for his ancestors. In point of fact, Mahendra’s kushti training got its start when Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti uncles Kakasaheb and Naganath Gaikwad began teaching him the ropes. They were the ones who instructed him in the fundamentals of the dance for the first time.

Life – Career

Young Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti’s father Babasaheb had hopes for him. Solapur’s Shirsi boy knew his destiny. Wrestle. It’s genetic. Dad was pehelwan. Wrestled. Father Babasaheb believes Mahendra is the third generation wrestler. Planned pehelwani career.

While wrestlers worldwide turned to synthetic foam mats to win Olympic medals, this section of Maharashtra’s wrestling stronghold seemed pleased with the old ways. Mitti wrestlers competed. Babasaheb thought top pehelwans competed without weight constraints while others suffered with weight cuts. Hanuman’s mace won.

Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti wrestled in a mitti circle with his grandfather, father, and uncle in loincloths. Babasaheb expected his kid to wrestle in the maidan (competition) at Vetal Yatra, Shirsi’s patron village god festival, in November. He may fight state maidans if he was good. If good, Babasaheb imagined his kid may wrestle in the Maharashtra Kesari, a state-wide open weight mitti kushti championship. He claims winning the competition makes you Maharashtra’s top wrestler.

Babasaheb must boost his son’s fame. Wednesday’s World Junior Championships men’s 125kg freestyle silver went to the 20-year-old. “Hum soch rahe Maharashtra Kesari ban sakta hai par yeh toh international nikal gaya.

We believed he would become a Maharashtra Kesari, but he went global. Babasaheb laughs. The result surprised Babasaheb. India’s first sports event. Mahendra fell 13-2 to Iran’s Masoumi Valadi in the final after defeating two tough opponents, including Turkey’s Adil Misirci, a bronze medalist at this year’s U-23 European championships.

We expected bronze. Finals are spectacular. Kaka Pawar’s Pune wrestling academy trains Mahendra. India took bronze in 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg, and 97kg at the 2022 junior worlds in freestyle. Mahendra was the first Indian to reach the final in 20 years.

(2002). It was thought India didn’t have heavyweight wrestlers. “If you do, they prefer not to compete on the mat,” Pawar says. True. Mitti kushti pays well for heavyweight wrestlers. 2-3 lakh rupees per bout. “Why train four years for a few opportunities at the Commonwealth, Asian Games, World championships, or Olympic games?” wonders Pawar.

Mahendra never considered World Championships. In his village’s Jay Hanuman talim (akhara), his uncles Kakasaheb and Naganath Gaikwad trained him wrestling. We and our father trained him. Babasaheb says all his exercises were mitti. Mahendra wrestled in local contests. His father believes he changed after three years at Kaka Pawar’s Pune academy.

Pawar feels mat wrestling has a place, even though maidan kushti draws tens of thousands. His “Antarashtriya kushti sankulan (international wrestling centre)” in Pune symbolizes this. Mahendra initially despised it. He couldn’t manage 250km from home. He left the academy. He adjusted once I returned. Must. Babasaheb says Mahendra Gaikwad Kushti practiced at Kaka Pawar’s famous academy to become a great wrestler.

Pawar disliked Mahendra’s academy and the 16-year-old. Babasaheb, a successful farmer with a fruit orchard on several acres and over 40 cows, fed Mahendra well as a youngster. Kaka Pawar blunter. Fat. 100 kg, five-eight. Churning curd makes butter round. That’s him—lone ka gola (ball of butter). Churning and heating it makes ghee. He’s Pawar’s claim.

Pawar invested in the kid because he saw potential. Strong. Our training helped him lose fat and increase muscle. Slim. 126–127 kilograms, six feet tall. He cuts 1–2 kilograms before tournaments but is fit. He’s dedicated. He’s confident. Pawar said he kept promising to win.

Kaka Pawar’s talim helped Mahendra gain from Maharashtra’s heavyweight wrestling revival. Maharashtra wrestlers are becoming increasingly competitive in the open weight category, whereas Haryana dominates most weight categories (five of India’s six bronze medallists in freestyle at the 2022 World Championships are from Haryana, one from UP).

In 2019, Abhijit Kakte became the first state athlete to reach the national finals, while Shivraj Rakshe won gold in 2021. Pawar’s talim trains both. Mahendra improved after battling a challenging training pool. Mahendra earned gold at the junior nationals last year and won silver in the Junior Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan last month.

Mahendra’s mitti kushti lasted his career. He competes. He lost the Maharashtra Kesari semifinals this year. Pawar concurs. Some say focus on the mat. Parampara (heritage). Maintain it. Our talim trains mitti once a week. Pushing opponents takes a stronger mitti grasp. Wrestlers increase leg strength, he believes.

Fundamentally, another benefit. Pawar said families are encouraged to enroll their children in mitti kushti. “Performing on the mat makes people want to see them,” says Pawar.

Mahendra-like. His mitti kushti profile is likely to rise after his silver medal at the junior worlds. His safety-first attitude works well on the mat, although wrestling fans occasionally criticize his lack of spectacular throws. Mahendra may win the Maharashtra Kesari again.

Kaka Pawar values the medal over Mahendra’s benefit. Maharashtra wrestling needs this award. Young wrestlers who only competed in mitti kushti suddenly know they can win international medals. He expects their goals to grow. Babasaheb’s ambitions. He’s thinking beyond Mahendra’s Maharashtra Kesari. Maidan kushti. Olympics. Maidan wrestling resumes. Babasaheb insists on Olympic participation.