Coach of Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’ wrestlers battles to save training center
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Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, the wrestling coach who trained actor Aamir Khan for the film Dangal, is working to save the training center at Indore’s Malhar Ashram in India.
Since 2008, Bishnoi has coached over 80 wrestlers at the Sports Authority of India center located within the ashram, offering free training. However, the building is deteriorating, with a leaking roof and crumbling walls that create puddles during monsoon season, disrupting training.
The center, originally intended as a boarding facility, now operates as a day-boarding center without an official SAI coach, relying on Bishnoi’s volunteer efforts. Wrestlers must bail water from the training area before practice, and the facility lacks a functioning changing room and adequate toilets, especially impacting the women wrestlers who must use public facilities or ask neighbors. Bishnoi recently contacted Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister, Mohan Yadav, hoping to secure repairs for the aging structure.
The Malhar Ashram center has produced many successful wrestlers, and Bishnoi hopes to continue mentoring aspiring champions if the building can be restored.
