Search engine Google commemorated Gama Pehlwan with a doodle on the 144th birth anniversary of the wrestling champion.

Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, popularly known as ‘The Great Gama’, was an Indian wrestler from the early 20th century. 

The doodle, created by Vrinda Zaveri, features the wrestler holding a silver mace, standing in between letters that seem to be shaking. The doodle aims to celebrate his impact on the sport of wrestling and his achievements inside the ring.

“Gama’s legacy continues to inspire modern day fighters. Even Bruce Lee is a known admirer and incorporates aspects of Gama’s conditioning into his own training routine!” wrote the Google Doodle blog.

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Who was Gama Pehlwan?

Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt was born on May 22, 1878, in the village of Jabbowal which was located in the Punjab province of colonial India.

At the age of 15, Butt began wrestling and soon gained prominence for winning several championships. Butt, a Kashmiri Muslim, was also hailed as a national hero for protecting Hindus during the partition of 1947.

Earning the name ‘The Great Gama’ along the way, Butt remained undefeated, winning tournaments like the World Heavyweight Championship in 1910 and the World Wrestling Championship in 1927 where he was given the title of ‘Tiger’. 

Gama Pehlwan was more than just a wrestler, whose name was often brought up in household conversations to make remarks on an individual’s muscular strength.

According to the Google Doodle blog, a 10-year-old Gama Pehlwan’s workout routine consisted of 500 pushups and lunges.

He was also felicitated with a silver mace by the Prince of Wales when the British heir visited India.

Butt spent the rest of his years in Lahore, and died in 1960 at the age of 82. 

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Today, Hasli, an exercise disk weighing 100 kg, rests inside Patiala’s National Institute of Sports (NIS) Museum as a souvenir that the Great Gama left behind for generations of wrestling enthusiasts to swoon over.