Ambikapur, April 1 (IANS) When Jammu and Kashmir’s Hamam Hussain isn’t occupied with wrestling practice, he assists his elder brother in delivering milk door-to-door. Hussain and his brother have been selling milk to support their family since their father died five years ago, all while pursuing his wrestling ambitions.

All those efforts finally paid off at the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026, where the 28-year-old wrestler from Jorawar village in Jammu won the men’s 79kg freestyle gold, defeating Mohit Kumar of Himachal Pradesh and earning his first national gold in 14 years of wrestling.

“My elder brother was also a wrestler and had competed at the state level. After our father passed away, all responsibilities came on our shoulders. My brother had to quit wrestling and started selling milk. I would go with him to deliver milk, as it was necessary for us to run the family. But he motivated me to continue wrestling and took me to dangals,” Hussain told SAI Media.

“The buffaloes our father left behind became our source of livelihood. My brother ran the household by selling milk, and I helped him. But once I stepped into the mud akhada, I was fascinated with the sport,” said the father of one, who belongs to the Hussain tribe in Jammu.

Despite having limited facilities, Hamam never lost hope. He trains almost 20 km from his village in a mud akhada and commutes about 40 km to Jammu for mat practice, while still managing his work duties.

“The SAI centre is in Jammu and we live in a lower region, so it is quite far for us. It is difficult to go there regularly for practice. We usually go only when there are competitions there; otherwise, we train in mud akhadas.

“I don’t have a personal coach. Senior wrestlers in the akhada guide us. When we train on mats, there are coaches there. In villages, we don’t get the kind of facilities that wrestlers in cities have. If we get better facilities, wrestlers from our region can win more medals at national and international levels,” he said.

Hamam views this gold not merely as a medal but as a symbol of years of effort and dedication. “It feels great to be here. The facilities provided were very good. We come from a backward area where there is not much support for wrestling, so we have to travel long distances to train. This is the first time such a competition has been organised for us, and if more such events are held, we can win more medals,” he signed off.

–IANS

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