Jatindra Charan Guho
Jatindra Charan Guha | |
---|---|
British India | |
Died | 2 January 1972 Calcutta, West Bengal, India | (aged 79)
Professional wrestling career | |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
Billed weight | 290 lb (132 kg) |
Trained by | Ambika Charan Guha Khetra Charan Guha Ram Charan Guha Kholsa Chaubey Rahmani Pehlwan |
Debut | 1910 |
Retired | 1944 |
Jatindra Charan Guha (13 March 1892 – 2 January 1972), popularly known by his ring name Gobar Guha,[1] was an Indian professional wrestler trained in pehlwani wrestling. Guha spent most of his career wrestling internationally,[2] defeating champion wrestlers Wladek Zbyszko, Renato Gardini, Ad Santel, and Joe Stecher.[3] By defeating Santel, he became the first Asian to win a World Wrestling Championship in the United States.[4]
Early life
Guha came from a family of wrestlers. The Guha family had been known for pioneering, promoting and popularising the art of pehlwani and physical culture in Bengal, for generations. His great-grandfather had set up an akhara at Masjidbari Street. His forebears included the legendary Ambu babu, and Khetu babu, who tutored Swami Vivekananda in the finer points of wrestling.[5] His father Ram Charan was also well-versed in the art.
Guha was born to Ram Charan in 1892 in
When Guha reached adulthood he stood at six feet and one inch and weighed around 290 pounds. His expanded chest measured 48 inches. In the meanwhile he also passed the Entrance examination from Vidyasagar school in 1910. He also received training in
Career
Guha embarked on a professional career in
In 1910, the John Bull Society of London organised a world wrestling championship bout to which
After World War I, Guha went on a third tour of Europe and the United States from 1920 to 1926. Some of this matches during this tour included:[3]
- 4 April 1921: defeated Joe Schultz, Chicago Coliseum, 13 minutes
- 26 April 1921: defeated Mortimer Henderson, Boston, 13 minutes and 8 seconds
- 10 May 1921: defeated Tommy Draak, Buffalo, 27 minutes
- 11 May 1921: defeated Bob Wilkie, Buffalo, 12 minutes
- 15 May 1921: defeated Farmer Bailey, Chicago, 15 minutes
- 20 June 1921: defeated Wladek Zbyszko, St. Louis
- 25 June 1921: defeated Renato Gardini
- 7 September 1921: defeated Joe Ramaona [sic], Wichita
- 27 October 1921: defeated Joe Stecher, Convention Hall, Kansas City, 1 hour and 17 minutes
- 29 December 1921: defeated John Granovitch, Chalmers Garage, Tennessee
During this tour, he fought the bout of his lifetime against catch wrestler and former World Light Heavyweight Champion Ad Santel on 24 August 1921 at the Coliseum in San Francisco. Billed for the "World Wrestling Championship," Guha defeated Santel after an hour. He became the first Asian to win a professional wrestling world championship in the United States.[5][4]
In a following bout he was pitted against the famous
In 1929, Guha fought another memorable fight against the younger Gama at
Legacy
Gobar Guha developed his own style of wrestling with influences from
Not only wrestlers but the famous body builders like Manohar Aich and Monotosh Roy were inspired by his successes. His own disciples included his son Manik and his students Banamali Ghosh, Jyotish Charan Ghosh and Biswanath Dutta.[6] His followers observed his birth centenary in 1992.
Goabagan Street in North Kolkata has been named Gobar Goho Sarani in his honour. His statue was installed and unveiled at the Azad Hind Bagh in 1996 by the then Governor of West Bengal, Late Raghunath Reddy. On the current day his akhara Gobar Goho's Gymnasium runs firmly at 19/D/H/7, Gobar Goho Sarani, Kolkata-700006. The nearest prominent landmark is the Scottish Church College.
Notes
- ^ "Chronology of Important Sports Events — West Bengal". wbsportsandyouth.gov.in. Kolkata: Government of West Bengal – Department of youth services and sports. 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ a b Tadié, Mangan & Chaudhuri 2016, p. 52.
- ^ ISBN 978-1134920242.
- ^ a b c "Wrestler Gobor Goho defeated world champions but British refused him 'John Bull Belt'". Get Bengal. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gupta, Abhijit (4 July 2010). "Lord of the wrestling rings". The Telegraph. Kolkata, India. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d Sengupta, S. (ed.) (1988). Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (in Bengali), Calcutta: Sahitya Samsad, pp.141–2
Further reading
- Bhattacharya, Ayan (10 September 2023). "বাংলা ভাগের ক্ষত কিভাবে বিষিয়ে দিল মোহনবাগান আর ইস্টবেঙ্গলকে?" [How did the wound of the partition of Bengal poisoned both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?]. inscript.me (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনস্ক্রিপ্ট বাংলা নিউজ. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- Abridged wrestling events History. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- A copy of the original "The Japanese Pro-Wrestling / Reality Based Martial Art Connection" article by Sam Chan