Pune’s Amol Barate has made the city proud by winning the prestigious, ‘Hind Kesari’ title in wrestling by defeating Air Force wrestler Sonu.
Amol won 6-2 in the bout played at Bhivani in Haryana, showing a great mix athleticism and strength.
Amol started the tournament in grand style, beating Madhya Pradesh’s Mahipal. Later, he beat Anilkumar and Deepak Kumar to enter the summit clash.
Sonu, his opponent in the final was a tough competitor countering all of Amol’s moves with ease.
However, after the interval,Amol started flexing his muscles to gain vital points over his opponent and eventually triumphed.
The last ‘Hind Kesari’ from Maharashtra was also a Pune boy, Yogesh Dodke in 2005.
Amol Barate has the distinction to become the first wrestler to be crowned ‘Hind Kesari’ playing on mat rather than on the conventional red clay surface.
The Indian Wrestling Federation has shifted to the mat surface, to increase India’s chances in international competitions.
Expressing his delight at winning the prestigious Hind Kesari title, Amol said he will now concentrate on mat practice with Commonwealth and Olympic games in mind.
“All wrestlers of my generation are used to playing on red clay. But in order to succeed at the international level, we have to play on mat. One needs to do some adjustments but it is a big challenge,” Amol said.
Speaking about the talent pool in Maharashtra, Amol was confident that better wrestlers could be developed in the state.
According to Amol, Maharashtra had the potential to develop top notch wrestlers like Sushil Kumar.
“Wrestlers need to work hard in the akhadas. I could fine tune my technique by working very hard. My family stood by me. Without their support, it would not have been possible to dedicate so much time to wrestling,” Amol said.
