The Goonga Pehelwan: Virender Singh Yadav

Virender Singh Yadav is that dedicated wrestler of India who never fears of his deafness. When he stands on the podium, he was never able to hear the National Anthem. But still, nobody could stop him from winning India the only gold medal at the Deaflympics in Sofia (Bulgaria) He is known as the “Goonga Pehelwan” in the wrestling circle.

He was a mute wrestler from Delhi who was trained for Olympics by silver medalist Sushil Kumar. In 22^nd Summer Deaflympics, Virender participated in men’s 74 kg freestyle event where he defeated Oguz Donder of Turkey to defend his title. The bronze medals at that time were won by Hiavorh Adamian and Aleksandr Ochirovich Tsoktoev of Russia. The victory achieved by Virender was an important step towards promoting deaf athletes in the nation. Sushil Kumar said that Virender is an excellent wrestler and he is even better in performing the traditional form of wrestling (Kushti).

By: Bhavna Sharma

Content: en.wikipedia.org