The Google Doodle for today honours Indian wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav on his 97th birthday. At the Helsinki Summer Olympics in 1952, Khashaba became the first individual athlete from independent India to receive an Olympic medal.
On this day in 1926, in the Indian state of Maharashtra’s town of Goleshwar, Khashaba Dadasheb Jadhav was born. Jadhav received his athleticism from his father, who was one of the best wrestlers in the village. Jadhav, then 10 years old, began training with his father to become a wrestler after excelling as a swimmer and runner.
Although Jadhav only grew to 5’5′, his skillful approach and light feet made him one of the best wrestlers at his high school. With further coaching from his father and professional wrestlers, Jadhav won multiple state and national titles. He was especially great at dhak—a wrestling move where he held his opponent in a headlock before throwing him to the ground.
Throughout the 1940s, Jadhav’s continuing success caught the Maharaj of Kolhapur’s eye. The Maharaj of Kolhapur made the decision to pay for his participation in the 1948 Olympic Games in London after he won an event at Raja Ram College. Jadhav rarely wrestled on official matchs because he wasn’t accustomed to the regulations of international wrestling. He competed against the world’s greatest and most seasoned flyweight wrestlers at the Olympics. Despite this, he was still able to finish sixth, which was the best position an Indian wrestler had ever achieved.
Jadhav worked harder than ever the following four years after being dissatisfied with his performance. He went up to the bantamweight division, where there were even more wrestlers from other countries. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Jadhav defeated wrestlers from Germany, Mexico, and Canada before losing to the eventual champion. He earned a bronze medal, becoming the first medal winner from independent India. Crowds awaited his return home and a parade of bullock carts carried him through his hometown village.
Jadhav injured his knee before the next Olympics, which ended his wrestling career. He later worked as a police officer. The Maharashtra Government posthumously awarded him the Chhatrapati Puraskar in 1992-1993. The wrestling venue built for the 20210 Delhi Commonwealth Games was named in his honor.
Happy Birthday to Khashaba Dadasheb Jadhav (aka the ‘Pocket Dynamo’)!
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