Google Doodle celebrates Gama Pehelwan’s birth anniversary, his accomplishments in wrestling world

Legendary Indian wrestler Gama Pehelwan’s birth anniversary was celebrated by Google Doodle today, May 22. He has been a towering figure in the world of wrestling in pre-independent India. The undefeated wrestler was also known as Rustam-e-Hind.

The veteran wrestler was born Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt in 1878 in Amritsar. He was born in a family of wrestlers. In 1910, he won his first World Heavyweight title.

If Google is to be believed, even Bruce Lee was a fan of Gama Pehelwan and would incorporate the Asian wrestler’s conditioning into his own routine.

Gama’s training included 500 lunges (bethaks) and 500 push-ups at the age of 10. In fact, in 1888, he contested with 400 wrestlers across the subcontinent in a lunging challenge and won the competition.

Gama rose to fame when he displayed his strength by lifting a 1,200-kg stone in 1902. The stone is kept in Baroda Museum. He spent his later years in Lahore. After achieving several feats in wrestling, Gama passed away in 1960 at the age of 82.