Bholu Pahalwan
| Birth name | Haji Manzoor Hussain |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 24, 1922 Lahore, Pakistan |
| Died | June 3, 1985 (aged 63) Lahore, Pakistan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Pride of Pakistan Rustam-e-Hind |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Trained by | Hamida Pahalwan |
Haji Manzoor Hussain, (1922–1985) also known as Bholu Pahalwan, was a Pakistani wrestler and held World Heavyweight.
Bholu came from a Kashmiri family of renowned wrestlers from Amritsar and after the independence of Pakistan in 1947 moved to Lahore. He lived in Amritsar until he was nine. Then during one of his school holidays Bholu moved to Patiala to visit his father, who was a serious wrestler. He was Gama Pehelwan's nephew.
He died on 6 March 1985 in Pakistan. His son Nasir Bholu is also a wrestler.
Bholu started his wrestling career in Radhanpur under the guidance of Hamida Pahalwan Rehmaniwala, real name Abdul Hamid Al Maroof Rehmani, who was an official wrestler of that state. In 1935, at age 13 Bholu made his first appearance in a wrestling contest at Lahore. He competed with wrestler known as Ahmad Baksh to a draw for a duration of twelve minutes. On Monday 27 March 1939 Bholu wrestles Ahmad Baksh for the 2nd time in Lahore. The Judges were Sardar Abdus Samad City Magistrate and Inspector Gayani of Naulakha Police Station.
From 1935 till 1940 Bholu succeeded against some of competent Indian Pahalwans like Mangal Singh, Kharak Singh, Bora Singh, Bulhar Pahalwan and Aleem Pahalwan of Baroda. During 1940, Bholu competed in the war fund wrestling competitions staged by the Government in every part of Subcontibent to boost up war funds. Bholu Pahalwan defeated a number of wrestlers, including a local champion Ghousia Pahalwan twice in Lahore and for the 3rd time in Bahawalnagar.
In 1944 Bholu defeated Puran Singh Amritsari in Ajain in a recorded time of 6 minutes. Later the same year he defeated another wrestler with the similar name known as Puran Singh Patialawala, in Ludhiana in 3 minutes. In 1945 Bholu beats a Sikh wrestler known as Darbar Singh in Kasur in shortest duration of 1-minute.
In 1946 Bholu was scheduled to fight Jeuti Pahalwan in Kolhapur but on the day of the match Jeuti refused to fight and slipped away. Public turned furious and burnt the wrestling arena. The police resorted to firing in order to control the enraged spectators and the alleged wrestling contractor was jailed. But Hamida Pahalwan soon arranged a rematch between both wrestlers to compensate the public money. Bholu agreed to wrestle without payment and defeated Jeuti in this second event in Kolhapur on a final decision. Later in another contest in Kolhapur he defeated the top contender Shiv Govinda within 2 minutes.
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