Great Gama (wrestler)

Gama Pehalwan

The "Great" Gama Pehelwan
Born	22 May 1878 Amritsar
Died	23 May 1960 (aged 82) Lahore, Punjab Pakistan
Family	Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif (granddaughter)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Gama Pahalwan
Billed height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Billed weight	245–260 lb (111–118 kg)

The "Great" Gama (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960) also known as "Gama Pehalwan" (Urdu: گاما پھلوان‎), was the stage name of Pakistani wrestler Ghulam Hussain.

Born in Amritsar into an ethnic Kashmiri family, he was awarded the Indian version of the World Heavyweight Championship on 15 October 1910. Undefeated in a career spanning more than 52 years, he is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

Gama was born in the city of Amritsar into an ethnic Kashmiri family, in what was then Punjab region. He hailed from a prominent wrestling family which was known to produce world-class wrestlers. Gama had two wives: one in Pakistan and the other in Baroda, Gujarat, India. His granddaughter Kalsoom Butt Nawaz Sharif is a three time First Lady of Pakistan.

After the death of his father Wrestler Muhammad Aziz Baksh, Gama was taken into training by the Maharaja of Datia. Gama was first noticed at the age of ten when he entered a strongman competition held in Jodhpur, which included many gruelling exercises such as squats. The contest was attended by more than four hundred wrestlers and young Gama was among the last fifteen. At that point the Maharajah of Jodhpur announced Gama as the victor due to his remarkable show of enormous stamina and dedication.

Gama's daily training consisted of grappling with forty of his fellow wrestlers in the court. He used to do five thousand Baithaks (squats) and three thousand Dands (pushups). Gama's daily diet was 4 gallons (15 litres) of milk, a pound and a half of crushed almond paste made into a tonic drink along with fruit juice and other ingredients to promote good digestion. This high protein and high energy diet helped him accumulate muscle mass.

Fame came to Gama at the age of 17 when he challenged then-Indian Wrestling Champion, middle-aged Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala, another Muslim wrestler from Gujranwala, now in Punjab, Pakistan. At about 7 feet tall, with a very impressive win-loss record, Raheem was expected to easily defeat the 5'7" Gama. Raheem's only drawback was his age as he was much older than Gama, and near the end of his career. The bout continued for hours and eventually ended in a draw. The contest with Raheem was the turning point in Gama's career. After that, he was looked upon as the next contender for the Indian Wrestling Championship. In the first bout Gama remained defensive, but in the second bout, Gama went on the offensive. Despite severe bleeding from his nose and ears, he managed to deal out a great deal of damage to Raheem Bakhsh. By 1910, Gama had defeated all the prominent Indian wrestlers who faced him except the champion, Raheem Bakhsh Sultani Wala. At this time, he focused his attention on the rest of the world. Accompanied by his younger brother Imam Bakhsh, Gama sailed to England to compete with the Western Wrestlers but could not gain instant entry, because of his lower height.