AKHADA MOVES, QUIRKY CHARACTERS

e began in 2015, as an event management company focused on pro-wrestling,” says Vinayak Sodhi, wrestler and founder of Wrestle Square Underground. “But at every event, fans begged me to give them a shot at becoming a pro-wrestler. That’s when I realised how much eager talent there was here.”

So Sodhi added a training academy to his offerings, in a leased bungalow in Noida’s Sector 50.

The basement is the training area — a ring space, a photography zone (where trainees do dummy interviews and ‘public interaction’) and a ‘chill out’ zone with a large TV where they can let off steam, sip on protein shakes, watch wrestling videos.

On the ground floor, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a sparsely furnished hall accommodate up to six trainees at a cost of ₹6,000 each a month.

Sodhi’s aim, he says, is to offer the global stage a distinctly Indian WWE champion.

“In Mexico there is a Lucha Libre style characterised by wearing masks in the ring. The British style is very technical; the Japanese is ‘shoot style’, very quick,” he says. “India is famous for its akhadastyle wrestling. We draw on that and use the submission holds and wrist-locks instead of obvious moves like punches.”

Most of the trainees are students in their early twenties. They spend at least four hours a day training.

Zorawar Singh aka Zorro, 25, an MBA aspirant from Jammu, takes time off from practising bumps to run through his notes in a corner of the room. He has a psychology paper in three hours.

“I can cram just before the exam, but I can’t miss training. A wrong move in the ring could cost me my dream of becoming a champion,” he says. His family is supportive, he adds, on condition that he finish his education on the side.

“Girls in my college dig the fact that I am into pro-wrestling,” says Malkeet Singh, 24, from Haryana. His ring name is Malkeet Brawler; his quirk is picking fights, playing dirty. But outside the ring, he’s so soft-spoken, you can barely hear him.

“One of the most important parts of prowrestling is creating a personality,” says Sodhi. “Malkeet has a theatre background and can slip into his character beautifully. Otherwise, it’s true, he is a shy guy.”