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Gaurav Kanthwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 20
Goonga Pehalwan — this moniker may sound like a cruel joke, but in Haryana’s hinterland it signifies a silent force. The wrestling fanatics of the state identify it with an indomitable spirit. A spirit that has overcome physical disabilities, earned social respect, and inspired all those who wish to make a mark in life.
Virender Singh Yadav can neither hear nor speak but on the wrestling mat, his actions speak louder than words. Sasroli’s son of the soil is a three-time gold medallist in Deaflympics, has won almost every dangal across the country against the most celebrated wrestlers of his time. He has also won the silver medal (2008 Armenia) and bronze medal (2012 Bulgaria) in the World Deaf Wrestling Championship.
In the recent 23rd Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, Yadav’s gold in the 74kg category was the only gold medal for the country in its best-ever haul (5 medals) at the championships. Way back in 2005, as a 20-year-old he had won India the first gold in the Melbourne Deaflympics.
His wrestling achievements aside, the most striking quality about him is that despite being deaf and mute, he always has a cheerful attitude to life. Till recently, Yadav did not have a steady job but he never allowed financial constraints to cause bitterness in his life. “We have seen him like this from childhood, unmindful of his disability and ever-smiling,” said Mahinder Singh, Yadav’s cousin and training partner.
For his sporting excellence, Yadav was awarded the Arjuna Award on August 29, 2016. On that day the Who’s Who of Indian sport vied to get photographs clicked with him, and the self-effacing, shy pehalwan obliged all with a smile on his face.
Was this the most memorable day of his life? Maybe, though there have been other days of triumph. His international achievements year after year have brought him at par with the present Olympics medal winners of the country. Like them, he has the honour of being recognised by the Sports Minister, Prime Minister and President of India on different occasions.
All this did not happen in a flash, it took him more than a decade to get recognition from the society. It was his consistent performances in the face of adversity that convinced the world of his class. In 2001 as a 16-year-old, he won the trials for the World Cadet Wrestling Championships but the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) did not allow him to participate, despite the International Olympic Committee rules allowing deaf athletes to participate in the Olympics. WFI contended that since he was deaf and mute, he would not be able to follow the referee’s instructions properly.
Till the selection trials for the 2016 Rio Olympics, he was dead serious about giving it a try but it was not meant to be. All his life he has been competing with able-bodied wrestlers and rubbing shoulders with Olympics medallists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi. “He can give any wrestler in his weight category a tough fight. He has a good technique and is a compact wrestler,” said Sushil Kumar.
Yadav was born in the home of wrestler-farmer Ajit Singh in Sasroli village of Jhajjar district on April 1, 1986. One year had passed and the family was still celebrating the birth of a son, their second child, after a daughter. Soon, however, the parents realised that the infant was mute and did not respond to any sound.
Five more years passed, but still the boy did not show any signs of improvement and fate’s cruel joke began to dawn on the family. Once, an infection in the boy’s leg prompted Ajit to ask his friend Surender Singh, another wrestler, to take the boy to a nearby hospital. On the way back home, Surender made a halt at a famous akhada of the area. The deaf-mute boy caught everyone’s fancy at the akhada and the folks at the akhada decided that the boy would remain there only, because “after all, what would he get in the village except taunts?”
“Since that day he never really came back home. From there he worked his way up to Chhatrasal Stadium,” said Ajit, explaining how difficult it was to ‘abandon’ a deaf-mute child among complete strangers. But such is the trust of the village folk in the akhada culture that the family hardly needed any convincing.
At the akhada, the jolly-natured albino child soon became one with the inmates. But before he could learn the dauv-pech of mitti ki kushti, it was the cardinal principle of the survival of the fittest that got naturally ingrained in him in the akhada.
No wonder the boy retained his verve and bounced back by the time he reached adolescence. In the 2001 Nationals in Haridwar, he won the gold that guaranteed selection for the World Cadet Wrestling Championships. However, WFI backtracked from the well-set norm of sending the winner, saying that the deaf-mute boy would only waste a precious opportunity in an international competition. “Haare hue ladke ko bheja, isko nahi,” said the father, the hurt of denial still evident in his voice 16 years after that incident.
As of today, Yadav is among the top wrestlers in traditional mud-wrestling.
Wrestling coach Virender Singh, who has trained a few physically challenged wrestlers at Jhajjar, says, “In comparison to other wrestlers he is very sharp and intelligent. He picks up moves quicker than others.”
Yadav was one of the very few athletes in the Deaflympics contingent who were at ease with the Indian and international sign language. Yadav’s effort is remarkable, especially in an Olympics sport like wrestling where a grappler has to make a move in split seconds. Often a wrestler who makes the first move is at an advantage. Yadav struggles on the mat as the referee gives instructions and communicates the award of points through a whistle. Yadav, thus, must keep a constant eye on the referee to keep a tab on the scoring, which is a great distraction for a wrestler.
While the referees in the Deaflympics use light and hand signals to communicate with the athletes, it is often done through a tap of a referee’s hand on the wrestler’s back in dangals back home.
The 32-year-old is a shining example of how an individual with meagre resources can harness innate talent to re-write destiny. Yadav’s consistent success at the international level has made him a known name now even though the financial constraints have not vanished completely. Having worked as a clerk in the Haryana State Electricity Board, he is now employed as a coach in the Haryana Sports Department for able-bodied wrestlers in Karnal.
“He has won medals, earned name and fame. He has a steady job with a decent salary now. It’s time we found a suitable girl for him and solemnised his marriage,” Ajit revealed his family’s future plans.
Goonga Pehalwan documentary
The documentary has been directed by Mit Jani, Prateek Gupta and Vivek Chaudhary, and produced by Drishti Media. The film is the winner of the 62nd National Film Award for the year 2014 under Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature) Category. The film was selected as the Opening Film of the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. Goonga Pehalwan received a special mention at the International Documentary and Short Film, Kerala, 2014.
Haryana athletes excel in Deaflympics 2017
The Indian contingent participated in a total of eight disciplines at the 2017 Deaflympics. Out of those eight disciplines, India won medals in three — gold and bronze in wrestling, bronze in lawn tennis and silver in golf. Jhajjar’s Virender Singh Yadav clinched the gold in 74kg freestyle event, while two other Haryana wrestlers, Sumit Dahiya and Ajay Kumar, bagged a bronze each. Haryana golfer Diksha Dagar won silver in the women’s individual event. Prithvi Sekhar and Jafreen Shaik won bronze in men’s doubles tennis.
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