Hyderabad: The 26th Hyderabad Kesari Wrestling Championship 2026 will be organized at the Barkas Playground on January 24 and 25.
Wrestlers from across the country will be competing for titles in different categories in the championship.
The event, held annually for the last three decades with a break during COVID, is organized by the Bamas Akhada Professional Wrestling Hub. The Bamas Akhada was established by Awad Bamas, and later Ustad Abdullah Bamas trained the youth in the art of wrestling.
International referees and acclaimed wrestlers will participate in the tournament and oversee the matches. Around 100 wrestlers from across Telangana are expected to participate in the ‘Silver Jubilee Celebrations’ in different categories.
The wrestling competitions will be held in different weight categories. World Professional Wrestling Hub office bearers will attend the event as well.
The older parts of Hyderabad are home to several mud-pit akhadas set up by well-known pehelwans who wrestled at championships and won titles like Telangana Kesari, Telangana State Champions, Hyderabad Kesari and others. Boys undergo zor (practice) every day, and learn daavs (techniques) from their coaches. Customary methods like dand (similar to dips), baithak (squats) with hasil (iron ring) and rassa (rope) are some of the traditional exercises. Every day, the trainers get the sportsmen to level the red mud ground with spades for friendly kushti in the akhadas.
