Rahul Gandhi-Bajrang Punia idea exchange: Dhobi pachaad meets jiu-jitsu moves at Haryana’s famous akhada

Wrestlers at one of Haryana’s most famous akhadas got an exhibition of the Japanese martial art jiu-jitsu on Wednesday morning. The surprise visitor who initiated the pehlwans to the globally popular combat sport was Rahul Gandhi.

Accompanied by Bajrang Punia, the Congress leader made an early morning visit to the academy in Chhara, a nondescript farming village, where the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist began his journey.

Gandhi, coach Virender Dalal said, practised with the wrestlers on the mat, learnt some of the famous moves like the dhobi pachaad and dhak and taught jiu-jitsu locks to Punia and Dalal before joining them for a meal of bajra roti and saag, accompanied by a tall glass of warm milk.

वर्षों की जीतोड़ मेहनत, धैर्य एवं अप्रतिम अनुशासन के साथ अपने खून और पसीने से मिट्टी को सींच कर एक खिलाड़ी अपने देश के लिए मेडल लाता है।

आज झज्जर के छारा गांव में भाई विरेंद्र आर्य के अखाड़े पहुंच कर ओलंपिक पदक विजेता बजरंग पूनिया समेत अन्य पहलवान भाइयों के साथ चर्चा की।

सवाल… pic.twitter.com/IeGOebvRl6

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 27, 2023

Gandhi’s visit to the wrestling academy comes days after Punia, who has been at the forefront of the protests against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, returned his Padma Shri to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Punia took the decision following the election of Brij Bhushan confidante Sanjay Singh as the president of the WFI. The government suspended the new committee last Sunday.

“He (Rahul Gandhi) came here along with Bajrang early in the morning, shortly after 6 am,” Dalal told The Indian Express. “He saw our routines and asked me to teach him a few moves. At first, I showed him some easy rolls. However, he insisted I teach him something tougher. So then, we moved to moves like dhobi pachaad and dhak. His grasping power was strong.”

Dhobi pachaad, where a wrestler lifts his opponent on the shoulders and then slams him to the mat, and dhak, where the wrestler holds his opponent in a headlock before throwing him to the ground, are two famous and crowd-pleasing moves in wrestling.

Dalal said Gandhi then proceeded to show him and Punia some moves in jiu-jitsu. “He said he is a yellow belt in that event and showed us some lock techniques,” Dalal said.

The Lala Diwan Chand Akhara, or Virender Akhara as it is known around those parts, is where two wrestlers who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics began their journeys.

Punia – who went on to win the bronze medal in the 65kg category and is a multiple Worlds medalist – spent his formative years in Chhara. Another World Championship medallist, Deepak Punia who competes in the 86kg category, also spent his early years in Chhara before moving to Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium.

The academy, started by Dalal in 1995, is located in the middle of farms and attracts top local talent.

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