I came here in 1998.
Only 12 to 13 years old,
I weighed 42kg.
My uncle Ramesh Mor, who was a wrestler himself,
brought me here.
He gave his blessings,
saying I'll become an ace wrestler.
(LOCAL WRESTLING CLUB, DELHI, INDIA)
Guru Hanumanji established this akhara in 1928.
This is India's premier wrestling club.
Boys come from distant places to train here
and become international wrestlers.
About 70 to 80 boys live here in the akhara.
An akhara teaches traditional and modern wrestling styles.
It is incomplete without its mud.
There are strict rules and regimen to adhere to.
If we break them, we are disciplined with a stick.
Flattening the mud, log pulling, running,
digging and rope climbing are all a part of our training.
We do over 100 push-ups and swing heavy clubs
as part of our everyday routine.
You aren't allowed to get tired.
Our guru used to say, "If you miss practice even for a day,
"then wrestling will leave you a week behind,"
in preparation for match day.
Wrestling requires following a substantial diet
and includes food like pulses, bread, butter,
milk and almonds.
We are taught to do our own cooking.
Sometimes, wrestlers can't even afford food.
We always help each other out.
We leave our homes behind when we come here
but every wrestler is a brother
and our coach is a father figure.
Even though we are a family,
on the mud, we are competitors.
There is a constant fear of career-ending injury,
but if we accept defeat
then how can we call ourselves wrestlers?
I've got my identity because of this club.
This is my world now.
I was a kid when I first came here, just like Sudama.
Didn't realise the passage of time.
When I first came here, I didn't understand anything.
The first few days, my heart wasn't in it, and I would cry.
After a couple of weeks, I started liking it.
I want to compete in the heavyweight category,
like our senior wrestler, Rajiv Tomar,
who competed in the Olympics.
While I am a little weak in studies, I know all
the rules of Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.
All of us wake up at 4am to go running
and train hard all day.
We don't get any breaks.
I was a complete novice in the beginning.
Then our coach had us train on mat.
The Dhobi Pachad manoeuvre, which I learnt on mud,
is what I make use of on the mat.
I love training on the mat.
This mat is going to take me to the Olympics.
It is my dream to win gold at the Olympics.
(..HAS PRODUCED SOME OF THE BEST WRESTLERS, INCLUDING
(RAJIV TOMAR WHO REPRESENTED INDIA IN THE MEN'S FREESTYLE
(120KG CATEGORY AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES BEIJING 2008.
(IT REMAINS TO BE THE MOST ICONIC WRESTLING CLUB
(IN INDIA.)