In conversation with Dinkar Chaudhary, a wrestler at Chandgi Ram Akhada, Delhi
Dinkar, 23 years old, is a professional wrestler.
Q- Where are you from?
I belong to Haryana. I am here to learn international kushti skills.
Q- Have you done your graduation?
Yes, I have done my graduation from Haryana. I haven’t done my post-graduation though. I am not planning to do anything else now. I just wanted to focus on my game.
Q- What kind of family background do you have?
I am a cousin of DEVVRAT CHAUDHARY. My nanaji was the founder of this akhada. My mother is a housewife, my father is a government employee. There are a lot of people in my family who are a part of international wrestling. I am very glad that a lot of people in my family won several gold medals in ALL INDIA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP.
Q- Is it hard for you to maintain this legacy?
Yes, it is hard to maintain family prestige, when you belong to such kind of family where such great wrestlers exists.
Q- Have you done wrestling in your school or college?
Yes, I was a National level wrestling player in my school, as well as a National level Kabbadi player. This helped me choose wrestling as my career.
Q- Tell me about your journey in this akhada.
I am here from the last 5 years. I took part in DELHI UNIVERSITY WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP and had an injury in my knee. It took me 14 months to recover from that injury. I had another injury in my leg due to which I was not able to participate in ALL INDIA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP. I have again joined this akhada after 16 months ago. I have also participated in ALL INDIA UNIVERSITY -130KG Greeco Roman.
Q- What kind of daily routine do you have?
I wake up at 5am and go to our akhada temple first. Then we start our practice from 6am to 9am . Then I go to our gym for some fitness training. There I spend 2 hours. Then we go home, take our diet and rest. Again, we practice here from 4pm to 6pm.
Q- Why the number of girls is very less in this akhada?
Earlier we had a lot of female wrestlers. But now only 3-4 girls are here. Wrestling is considered as a sport of boys and not of girls. Even families don’t support girls to be a wrestler. It is hard for a girl to join an akhada and be an international wrestler.
Q- Which championship are you preparing now?
I am preparing for the upcoming Pro-Wrestling Championship of 2016.
