Google Doodle celebrates the legacy of wrestler Khashaba Jadhav on his 97th birthday
Google paid tribute to the late legendary wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav with a pleasant doodle on his 97th birthday on Sunday, January 15.
The wrestler, also popularly called the Pocket Dynamo, was the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal after the nation’s independence. The well-known athlete won an Olympic medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
There are two Jadhav logo designs on Google’s homepage. In the first picture, the wrestler is seen ready to play and in the second, he is proudly wearing an Indian jersey.
Khashaba Jadhav won bronze after defeating German, Mexican and Canadian players at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Born on January 15, 1926 in Goleshwar village in Maharashtra, the legendary wrestler won many awards at the state and national levels during his tenure as a professional athlete.
The King of Kolhapur noticed Khashaba Jadhav’s talent, which led him to finance the athlete’s participation in the 1948 London Olympics.
At that time, Jadhav did not have much experience in the sport and no knowledge of its rules, but he still managed to get sixth place after wrestling with highly experienced wrestlers.
After four years of continuous training, Jadhav participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, won bronze and became the first Indian to win a medal for India after independence.
According to reports, the wrestler was welcomed by a bullock cart parade that took him to the village after the victory.
Jadhav’s style of wrestling and his light feet were known to help him become one of the best wrestlers.
Jadhav’s career ended due to a knee injury
Later, Khashaba Jadhav’s career as an athlete ended even before he could participate in the next Olympics due to his knee injury. However, he was later appointed as a police officer and retired as an Assistant Commissioner in 1983.
Wrestler Khashaba Jadhav was awarded Chhatrapati Puraskar
Maharashtra government also awarded the wrestler with Chhatrapati Puraskar in 1992-1993 for his continuous efforts in wrestling.
To celebrate Jadhav’s achievements, the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games wrestling venue was named after him.