Born in the early 1900s, Hamida Banu She was a material woman! He defied all odds and social norms to become India’s first professional female wrestler He was famous not only in his own country but also internationally. Google commemorated Hamida Banu on May 4, a historic day in her career in 1954, and published a beautiful doodle in her memory. Illustrated by Divya Negi Google Doodle It depicts Hamida Banu surrounded by colorful flora and fauna.
Hamida Banu: An extraordinary woman
Hamida Banu was born in the early 1900s as a child of a wrestler family. Aligarh, India. She grew up wrestling throughout her career, which spanned the 1940s and 1950s, winning more than 300 contests against both male and female wrestlers. In India at that time, women’s participation in sports, especially wrestling, was highly discouraged and was considered against social norms. But Hamida remained true to her passion and herself as she became India’s first professional female wrestler!
Hamida competed with male wrestlers and beat them too! She even issued an open challenge to male wrestlers, saying that the first person to defeat her in a wrestling match would win her hand in marriage. But no one could beat him!
Why is Hamida Banu commemorated on May 4?
May 4 is an important date for him wrestling career Like today in 1954 when he defeated the very famous male wrestler Baba Pahalwan. Their bout lasted only one minute and 34 seconds, and Hamida defeated her opponent. Baba PahalwanAfter this, Baba Pahalwal retired from wrestling!
She also competed against Russian female wrestler Vera Chistilin and won the bout, which lasted less than two minutes.
Hamide Banu: “Aligarh Amazon“
Hamida was quite popular at that time and received wide coverage in both Indian and international media. So much so that he was also nicknamed the “Amazon of Aligarh” due to his outstanding performance.
According to reports, Hamida was 1.80 meters tall and weighed 108 kg. A BBC report says: “His daily diet consists of 5.6 liters of milk, 2.8 liters of soup, 1.8 liters of fruit juice, a poultry, about 1kg of mutton and almonds, half a kilo of butter, 6 eggs, two large loaves.” It contained bread and two plates of biryani.” “He sleeps nine hours a day and trains for another six hours,” Reuters reported.
At the peak of his career, Hamida seems to have disappeared from the wrestling scene. According to BBC news, Hamida’s coach was hired to prevent her from going to Europe. Hi Pahalvan He once beat her so badly with sticks that he injured her legs and it took years for her to heal. Later in life, he adopted a son and lived in Kalyan, Maharastra; Here he made a living by selling milk, renting buildings and selling snacks. He lived a difficult life in his last days.
However, a statement by Google said, “Hamida Banu was a pioneer of her time and her fearlessness is remembered in India and around the world. Apart from her sporting achievements, she will be celebrated for always remaining true to herself.”