Out of the 10 sports that have made debut at the ongoing Asian Games in Jakarta, one was Kurash, a form of wrestling that originated from Uzbekistan.
Out of the 10 sports that have made debut at the ongoing Asian Games in Jakarta, one was Kurash, a form of wrestling that originated from Uzbekistan.
In the sport’s debut at the Games, beating all odds, two Indians ended on the podium in women’s 52kg category. While Pincky Balhara clinched a silver medal, Malaprabha Yallappa Jadhav won bronze.
Both the players come from a very humble background. Prior to the Games, they didn’t even have the money to pay for their respective kits. Kurash Association of India (KAI) is not even recognised by the Sports Ministry but after their medal finish, that could certainly change.
Here is a rule guide to Kurash, an Uzbeki wrestling style:
In this form of wrestling, the wrestlers use towels to hold their opponents and the ultimate aim is to throw their opponent off their feet on the back.
The fight is held on a special mat with thickness at least 5cm with a marked working zone (located in the centre), protective zone and with a passive zone separating the first two. The two wrestlers stand in the working zone and the only stance permitted during the fight is the standing one.
There are three scoring points - Halal, Yambosh and Chala and the player who scores a Halal wins the combat.
To score a Halal, you need to throw your opponent on the back with full control, force and speed.
However, the throw that is somewhere close to bringing Halal is given Yambosh. Two Yambosh makes one Halal. The throw that is close to Yambosh is given Chala and no number of Chala can equal a Yambosh.
There are three penalties in Kurash - Tambik, Dakki and Girrom and the last time lead to the disqualification of the wrestler. The bout starts with salutation which is called Tazim. The word which is used to stop the bout is Tokta and to cancel a point, Bekar.
Kurash is probably the safest among other combat sports because the wrestlers are allowed nothing but dashes and undercut and any painful, beating and submission holds, grips below the belt are prohibited in Kurash. In spite of these restrictions, the Kurash fights are dynamic and exciting.
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 "India win 2 medals in Kurash")
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