INDORE: Kripa Shankar Bishnoi’s wards unwittingly had a new routine added to their training regimen this monsoon: bailing bucketfuls of rainwater out of their akhada at Indore’s Malhar Ashram before taking the mat to hone their technique.The Arjuna-winning coach, who trained actor Aamir Khan for his portrayal of Mahavir Phogat in the 2016 blockbuster Dangal, is now struggling to keep his batch of young talents from leaving out of frustration over the worsening state of their training centre.The leaks on the roof of Malhar Ashram centre have got larger for want of repairs, its walls are shedding plaster and the training equipment is constantly at risk of being damaged by puddles forming inside after each downpour.More than 80 wrestlers have been training at Sports Authority of India centre housed at Indore’s Malhar Ashram since 2008. The centre offers free coaching and Bishnoi is always eager to mentor whoever aspires to be a champion wrestler.What he is unable to fix is the state of the structure. “The wrestlers have to clear the puddles that form inside. The situation was particularly worse this year, making it almost impossible for my wrestlers to train properly,” Bishnoi told TOI.With the akhada becoming unusable on days when it rains long and heavily, the centre approached the principal of the adjacent Sandipani Govt Malhar Ashram School this year. The latter opened the school’s unused old boys’ association hall as a stopgap option for about a month.A leaking roof isn’t Bishnoi’s only challenge. SAI centre has no changing room and its toilets are in bad shape, affecting women wrestlers the most. They are forced to use public toilets nearby or knock on the doors of neighbouring houses. A toilet built with local MLA Golu Shukla’s assistance is yet to function.“The centre was originally established as a boarding-cum-wrestling facility but later turned into a day-boarding centre. It is currently functioning without an official SAI coach,” said Bishnoi, who also trained Aamir’s reel daughters, playing the Phogat sisters, in Dangal.The 18-year-old centre has operated without an official coach since it opened. While Bishnoi has chosen to unselfishly mentor aspiring grapplers without access to basic infrastructure or resources, his spirit is close to breaking.“Rainwater mixed with sewer runoff from damaged lines has reached the premises of the training centre,” the Arjuna awardee said. “I raised the issue with chief minister Mohan Yadav. Let’s see what happens.”In a city where traditional akhadas have nurtured generations of wrestlers, including national and international medal-winners, Malhar Ashram’s crumbling training centre awaits an escape from the chokehold of decay.
