Mallakhab takes aerial route, Gujaratis to train Dutch in ancient sport

Vadodara: , India's ancient sport involving yoga postures on a wooden pole, is generating tremendous excitement in European countries.A Gujarati recently took mallakhamb to the global level by organizing a show as well as a camp in The . It was for the first time that the Dutch got a glimpse of mallakhamb, and they will soon be taking lessons in the sport.Bhavik Mukati and his students performed mallakhamb on the streets of the Netherlands and evoked a huge response from locals and NRIs. "It's for the first time that mallakhamb players from Gujarat have visited a European country to promote the sport. My students performed a range of mallakhamb exercises that awed people in the Netherlands," Mukati, a mallakhamb coach from Vadodara, told TOI."Our aim was to promote mallakhamb in Europe and draw the Dutch as well as NRIs' children to this sport that has great health benefits. And we succeeded to a great extent as many locals approached us to know more about mallakhamb and how to learn it. The opened a centre in The Netherlands five days ago for teaching mallakhamb," Mukati, a mallakhamb champion, said.Mukati's four students — Rudra Rajput, Diya Joshi, Netra Parikh, and Srushti Jadav — performed various exercises and aerial yoga poses on the mallakhamb – a wooden pole – on the streets of Amstelveen and Eindhoven. They were hosted by the Marathi Mandals and Ramanbaug Yuva Mancha during the Ganesha festivity there."Our exhibition of India's ancient sport and exercise has evoked a lot of interest, and the centre run by Sushrut Deshpande is already getting enquiries from the Dutch. We also explained to the locals how this sport enhances concentration, reduces stress, and improves the body's immunity," Mukati added.The International Mallakhamb Federation had invited Jay Kuber Mallakhamb Sports Academy, run by Mukati, to perform and promote the sport in The Netherlands as well as Germany. "We plan to promote mallakhamb in many more western countries in the coming years," he said.Vadodara: One of the oldest sports in the country is set to make a foray into European countries. A Gujarati recently took mallakhamb to the global level by organising a show as well as a camp in the Netherlands. It was for the first time that the Dutch got a glimpse of mallakhamb, and they will soon be taking lessons in the sport.Bhavik Mukati and his students performed mallakhamb on the streets of the Netherlands and evoked a huge response from locals and NRIs. "It's for the first time that mallakhamb players from Gujarat have visited a European country to promote the sport. My students performed a range of mallakhamb exercises that awed people in the Netherlands," Mukati, a mallakhamb coach from Vadodara, told TOI."Our aim was to promote mallakhamb in Europe and draw the Dutch as well as NRIs' children to this sport that has great health benefits. And we succeeded to a great extent as many locals approached us to know more about mallakhamb and how to learn it. The International Mallakhamb Federation opened a centre in the Netherlands five days ago for teaching mallakhamb," Mukati, a malakhamb champion, said.Mukati's four students — Rudra Rajput, Diya Joshi, Netra Parikh, and Srushti Jadav — performed various exercises and aerial yoga poses on the mallakhamb – a wooden pole – on the streets of Amstelveen and Eindhoven. They were hosted by the Marathi Mandals and Ramanbaug Yuva Mancha during the Ganesha festivity there."Our exhibition of India's ancient sport and exercise has evoked a lot of interest, and the centre run by Sushrut Deshpande is already getting enquiries from the Dutch. We also explained to the locals how this sport enhances concentration, reduces stress, and improves the body's immunity," Mukati added.The International mallakhamb Federation had invited Jay Kuber Mallakhamb Sports Academy, run by Mukati, to perform and promote the sport in the Netherlands as well as Germany. "We plan to promote mallakhamb in many more western countries in the coming years," he said.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Diwali wishes, messages and quotes !