With little funds to train, youth see no future in wrestling

Garadi manes of Dharwad, which used to be crowded with wrestlers, are now losing their sheen having failed to attract youngsters in recent times. The martial art, which was popular in north Karnataka for centuries, is suffering due to lack of encouragement and financial support besides absence of economic benefits for the wrestlers -basically they see no future in pursuing it.Many young wrestlers say there are no facilities, and they undergo training by spending money from their pocket.
Chanrashekar Garagad, a coach at the Karnataka Vyam Shalla Jyothi Talim, said, "I have been guiding young wrestlers for 10 years. Earlier, we had a lot of budding members have gone down wrestlers, but the numbers have gone down in the past couple of years."
The young wrestlers, most of them college and school students, don't get support from any organization or the government; they spend their own money to stay in the garadi manes. Youngsters from Navalgund, Naragund, Gadag, Bagalkot and other surrounding village join the garadi manes in the city. "Due to lack of financial support, garadi manes also have not seen any improvement. Even we are not getting anything; we are training wrestlers only because of our passion for the martial art. Now we have around 40 budding wrestlers, earlier we use to have almost double the number," Garagad added.
Young wrestlers train for around six hours every day. It means they also need good diet. Hanumant Hosamani, ustad (guide) at Maruthi Vyam Shale, said, there's not much scope for traditional wrestlers. "They participate in open competitions held in fairs and other events to get money for training. Wrestlers should get some support. No local elected representative or organization helps them," he added.
Laxman Talwar, an up-and-coming wrestler, said, "Most of us come from rural areas. Now, due to crop loss, it's very difficult to pay college fees and transportation fees. It would be better if wrestlers get some financial support or scholarship."