Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's birth anniversary: Google Doodle pays tribute to India's first individual athlete to win Olympic medal

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's birth anniversary: Google on Sunday (January 15, 2023) paid tribute to Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, India's first individual athlete to win an Olympic medal, with a special Doodle on his 97th birthday. Wrestler Khashaba Dadasheb Jadhav was born on this day in 1926 in the village of Goleshwar in Maharashtra. He became independent India's first individual athlete to win an Olympic medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. His father was also one of the village's best wrestlers, and Jadhav, also known as the "Pocket Dynamo", inherited his athleticism.

After shining as a swimmer and runner, 10-year-old Jadhav started training as a wrestler with his father. 

Jadhav, who was only 5’5”, was one of the best wrestlers at his high school because of his skillful approach and light feet. He was good at dhak—a wrestling move where he held his opponent in a headlock before throwing him to the ground. 

With coaching from his father and professional wrestlers, Jadhav won multiple state and national titles. 

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's first Olympic Games participation was in 1948

Jadhav's success also earned the attention of the Maharaj of Kolhapur, during the 1940s. After he dominated an event at the Raja Ram college, the Maharaj of Kolhapur decided to fund his participation in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. 

The Olympics pitted Jadhav, who wasn't used to international wrestling rules and rarely wrestled on regulation mats, against the best and most-experienced flyweight wrestlers in the world. He, however, still managed to place 6th, the highest-ever finish for an Indian wrestler at the time.

KD Jadhav spent next four years training harder 

Unsatisfied with his performance, KD Jadhav spent the next four years training harder than ever before. 

He moved up a weight class to bantamweight, which featured even more international wrestlers. 

At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he defeated wrestlers from Germany, Mexico, and Canada before losing to the eventual champion. 

Jadhav earned a bronze medal, becoming the first medal winner from independent India. 

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's wrestling career ended due to knee injury

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's injured his knee before the next Olympics, which ended his wrestling career. He later joined the police force. 

The Maharashtra Government posthumously awarded him the Chhatrapati Puraskar in 1992-1993. 

The wrestling venue built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi was named in his honor.