Our today article is about a wrestler who was born in a small village in Maharashtra. And in just a short span of ten years, he defeated wrestlers like Rustam e Hind Dadu Chougle, Jharkhand Rai, Parashuram Patil, Netrapal Singh and Mahabali Satpal Singh.Legendary wrestler of Maharashtra, Asian Gold Medalist, Maharashtrian Kesri Rustam e Hind Harishchandra Birajdar, the famous disciple of Double Maharashtrian Kesri Ganpat Rao Khedkar.
Harishchandra Birajdar was born on June 5, 1950 in Ramling Mudgad, a small village in Latur District, Nilangana Tehsil, Maharashtra, India. He belonged to the Lingayat community. He lost his mother's affection when he was only five years old. Later, he was brought up by his father Madhu Ram, who had been a farmer and numberdar of his village for many years. Hari was their only son. Harishchandra's grandfather Vathuba and his father Madhu Ram were also wrestlers themselves. That is why he wanted his son to become a wrestler. Both education and wrestling started at the same time in the village school. Harishchandra Birajdar started wrestling at the age of seven and received his initial training in the art of wrestling from his father Madhu Ram. And started wrestling in the surrounding areas. His father Madhu Ram decided to send Harishchandra to Kolhapur at the age of fifteen, seeing a better future for him. At the beginning of the 20th century, the art of wrestling was promoted in Kolhapur under the patronage of Rajshri Shahu Maharaj. He also established several akhadas besides Khas Bagh ground for the promotion of wrestling in Kolhapur. Due to which wrestlers from all corners of the country settled in Kolhapur. Learning the art of wrestling in Kolhapur was a new beginning in Hari's life. Double Maharashtrian Kesari Ganpat Rao khedkar was an experienced wrestler. Who had been an excellent wrestler himself in the 1960s. Under his guidance, Harishchandra Birajdar Pehlwan started working hard day and night. Harishchandra will soon become one of the best wrestlers with the wrestling techniques taught by the teacher.
In 1967, Harishchandra Birajdar won the Maharashtra championship in the student group at the state competitions held in Jalgaon district. It was his first win at this level. In 1968, in the competition held at Ahmednagar, he participated in 68 kg category. His last wrestling match was with Banda Patil of Kolhapur. That ended in a draw. However, due to low weight, Banda Patil was declared the winner. In the same year, Harishchandra Birajdar participated in the Hind Kesari competition in Rohtak, Haryana. where he wrestled with Chacha Pehlwan, a veteran army wrestler, and finished second.
The 8th Maharashtra Kesri Dangal was held in Latur on November 1969. In the first match, Harishchandra Birajdar easily defeated Pune's famous wrestler Sudama vadhole. Defeated last year's all-Maharashtra Kesri Parshu Ram Patel in the second bout. While in the third match, he defeated Sangli's Sambhaji Pawar and in the final, he faced Rustam e Hind Dadu Chougle wrestler. In the Maharashtra Kesri Dangal held at Latur, Dadu Chougle wrestler was defeated by Harishchandra Birjdar on points and thus Harishchandra became the first Maharashtra Kesri of Marathwada.
He won the 1970 All India Championship held at Kanpur by defeating Dal singar Yadav and Bharat Kesri Jharkhand Rai. Due to which he was selected in the Indian team for the World Championship held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1970.
Along with spectator wrestling, Harishchandra Birajdar Wrestler also participated in Olympic style wrestling. And participated in the 82 kg freestyle wrestling category in the 1970 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Won the gold medal by defeating the wrestlers of New Zealand and Canada. He received a grand welcome on his return home and in 1971 was awarded the Shiv chatrapati Sports Award by the Maharashtra government.
Harishchandra Birajdar also participated in the Summer Olympics held in Germany on 26 August 1972. But fate did not support him and exited the event after losing to Japan's Tatsuo Sasaki in the second round of the 82kg freestyle wrestling category.
In the same year in May 1972, a grand Dangal was held in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh for the Rustam e Hind title. Where he faced an Indian Army wrestler, Bharat Kesri award holder and Asian silver medalist Neterpal Singh, which was witnessed by thousands of fans. But the boat was stopped after 15 minutes due to sudden rain. And a day later, a rematch was announced. On the second day, the competition lasted for 50 minutes, but neither wrestler could gain an upper hand over the other. So the committee members announced to end the wrestling. But the spectators protested and the wrestling continued. Suddenly, Netrapal Singh came to Harishchandra's stake. And it was clear. People expressed happiness. And forgot to storm the stadium. And thus, Harishchandra Birajdar Pahlwan won the title of Rustom e hind by defeating Neterpal Singh.
But along with this Harishchandra's financial condition became very critical. The father had gone into debt by taking a loan on the land. and were not in a position to send money to Hari. Harishchandra Birajdar decided to take up wrestling in the Pune area. Every day a new place would be wrestled. Win prizes from there. They used to eat in hotels and sleep in Akhara. Due to exercise and food, the condition worsened. In the same year, the Asian Test Championship was hosted in Patiala. Harishchandra Birajdar, despite not being in a position to compete, took the field. The first match was between Satpal Singh and Krishan Kumar. Which Satpal won by one point. The second bout was between Harishchandra Birajdar and army wrestler Netrapal Singh. In which Harishchandra Birajdar had to face a defeat by only one point due to ill health and missed the opportunity to participate in the Asian Games.
In the same year, on 9th April 1975, a grand Dangal for the Rustam e Bharat title was held in Kolhapur in which around 110 wrestlers from India participated. But Harishchandra Birajdar could not show his performance here and finished fourth. While Mahabali Satpal wrestler won the Rustom Bharat title by defeating Laxman Vidar in the semi-final and Bharat Kesri Dadu Chogle wrestler in the final.
Apart from this, Harishchandra wrestler also faced defeat from Chamba Matnale wrestler. While in Mahabharat Kesri Dangal held in Delhi, he also stood at the fourth position.
Then in the year 1976, Harishchandra Birajdar started suffering from stomach pain. Days passed but his disease could not be properly diagnosed and thus the year passed.
Harishchandra Birajdar got his real fame from wrestling with famous Delhi wrestler Mahabali Satpal Singh. Mahabali Satpal was ruling the world of wrestling in India in the seventies. Satpal Singh, a wrestler from Delhi's Birla Akhara and Guru Hanuman Singh's famous disciple, he defeated the best wrestlers of that time, including Kartar Singh wrestlers, Marari Lal Verma, Kanver jeet wrestler, Laxman Vadar, Fateh Singh, Teja Singh, Rustam e Hind Dadu Chogle wrestler, Om Veer wrestler. Shankar Pahlwan, Balu Patil, Jagdesh Mitar, Rustam e Hind Vijay Kumar Bila pehlwan, he created such a panic in Indian wrestling that there was no wrestler in the whole of India who could defeat Satpal. The feeling was that only wrestlers were Satpal. One after another, Marathi wrestlers were being overwhelmed by Satpal. And above all, in the wrestling matches held at Kolhapur's Khas Bagh ground, he defeated the double Maharashtra Kesri, Rustam e Hind Dadu Chogle wrestler three times in a row. People did not forget him. After that, whenever a wrestler was seen in Kolhapur, people started calling him Satpal. There was a feeling that no one could beat Satpal. Because he was invincible. And was challenging all the wrestlers of India to compete. Harishchandra Brijdar entered the arena to avenge the insult of the Marathi wrestlers.
Accordingly, Sudram Patil, a contractor from Belgaum arranged a wrestling match between Harishchandra and Mahabali Satpal. To defeat the undefeated Satpal wrestler, Ustad Ganpat Rao Khedkar began to find his weakness. On the other hand, the hard work done by Harishchandra Birajdar Pehlwan under the guidance of Ustad Ganpat Rao khedkar is unparalleled. At four o'clock in the morning, Barjdar would run 10 kilometers and do 2500 push-ups and 2500 sit-ups. To strengthen his hands he started Swimming in the Panj ganga pool and rope climbing exercises as well as practicing with three wrestlers were his routine.
This historic battle started on January 11, 1977 in belgaum. Millions of wrestlers from all over the country came to Belgaum to see it. In this fight, the duties of referee were performed by Hind Kesri Maruti Mane. Aggression and agility were the hallmarks of Mahabali Satpal. But those present witnessed a scene that no one expected. Harishchandra Birajdar trapped Satpal in his moves so that in the 14th minute, Barjdar defeated the Satpal wrestler to give the Marathi wrestlers the lead. regained its dignity. At the end of the match, Harishchandra Birajdar Pahlwan was carried on the shoulders by the people and seated on an elephant in a grand procession. The people of Kolhapuri burst firecrackers at various places, showered rose flowers and expressed their happiness on this victory by sharing thanks.
Viewers Harishchandra Birajdar remained active in the art of wrestling until the age of 30. But his career ended when he was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1979. After 1977, his pain increased. The pain was so intense that death seemed unbearable. Chief Minister Vasant Dada Patil along with the Sports Minister Arun Divekar showed Harishchandra Birajdar checkup to many famous doctors from Mumbai, Kolhapur and Mirage. All investigations were done but no diagnosis could be made. Meanwhile, a doctor diagnosed the appendix and operated on him. But the trouble continued. Finally a doctor at a hospital in Pune diagnosed kidney stones. The stones were removed through an operation, which ended Harishchandra Birajdar's wrestling career in 1983.
After retiring from the spectator wrestling profession. He turns to business on the strength of his earned wealth. Some take trucks. Some deal in land. But there are very few who have the passion to teach their craft to future generations. Wrestler Shripati Khanchnale in Kolhapur, Wrestler Ganpat Andalkar, Wrestler Dina Nath Singh. Double Maharashtrian Kesri Dadu Chogle and Rustam e Hind Harishchandra Birajdar continued this tradition. A year after the operation, Chief Minister Vasant Dada Patil prepared a special proposal and placed it before the Cabinet. and he started teaching wrestling at a training center in Pune.
Thousands of international wrestlers have become under his guidance. Among his students, uncle Pawar became an Arjuna awardee, while his younger brother Govind Pawar also won a silver medal in an international tournament. Ravinder Patil. Rahul is a wanderer. Rajesh Bargoje. Rahul Kalbhoor. Hussain Waghmode. Yuvraj Wagh. Sanjay Magar. Amul Kashid and Ranjit Nalawade are his disciples. who have played at the international level. So far five of his disciples have become Maharashtra Kesari winners. And seven have been honored with the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award.
In 1971, the Maharashtra Wrestling Council awarded him the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award for his achievements. And in the year 1998 Daduji Konddev Awarded by the Government of Maharashtra as an Eminent Guru. While in the year 2006, Dhyan Chand will be awarded the biggest award of Indian sports by the central government. Viewers may recall that Harishchandra Birajdar Barjdar was the second wrestler from Maharashtra to be awarded Dhyan Chand, the highest honor in Indian sports. Earlier this award was given to Hind Kesari Maruti Mane wrestler from Maharashtra Sangli in 2005. Harishchandra Birajdar Barjdar was known as Mama Barjdar. And he used to give full credit for his success to his father Madhu Rao.
They got married in 1989 and had two sons, Sagar Burjdar and Rahul Burjdar. His elder son Sagar followed his father's footsteps and emerged as a promising junior wrestler from Maharashtra. He won the state junior championship and qualified for the national junior championship. He wishes to fulfill his father's dream and represent India. Win a gold medal in the Olympics.
Harishchandra Birajdar wrestler was admitted to a private hospital in Latur in April 2011 after suffering brain hemorrhage. Days passed but his condition did not improve. He died in the hospital around 07:30 am on September 14, 2011 after a prolonged illness. He was 61 years old at the time of death. In the evening, his last rites were performed in Panch ganga, in which most of the wrestlers of the country participated. And the wrestler was surrendered to Agni in the presence of thousands of mourners. Thus ended another chapter of indigenous wrestling in India.
