Why is wrestling so important to you?
In kushti, the body and the mind is fully trained for alertness. It requires the player to be completely disciplined. If he indulges in other worldly pleasures he knows he would lick dust in the wrestling ring.
But there arent many takers for the sport now.
Thats because the government has no concern for indigenous games like kushti, kabaddi or even hockey. These games have evolved here and they flow in our blood. Instead of blindly pursuing a foreign game, its time that we took our games around the world. Why dont these sports bigwigs visit our villages and watch the youngsters at play. Theres talent in abundance. If its honed well make a mark. Then, our wrestling hasnt reached the masses, thanks to TV channels. In the lust for making money they prefer cricket. So its natural that this generation only understands cricket. But children and adults enjoy WWF wrestling too. If the pure form of Indian kushti is given media attention, Im sure people will soon get interested.
Cricket seems to have wiped everything out...
I have scant respect for cricket. Look at all the scandals. Besides, I believe that this game is meant for servile countries, countries that have always been ruled by the Western world.
Have you ever tried to do anything for indigenous games in your official capacity?
As the CM, I tried very hard to encourage wrestling. I even gave away prestigious awards to famous wrestlers of UP like Ram Aasrey Singh and Panna Lal. In my village, Sefai, I still organise a grand wrestling competition around Diwali.
There is a lot of controversy about betting in cricket, but then wrestling also survives on betting?
Theres no doubt that betting happens in kushti, but thats mostly confined to paltry amounts. Often some players are so poor that they beg their opponent to lose so that they can earn some money. This betting cannot be in any way compared to what is going on in cricket. The stakes are absolutely incomparable.
