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Sangram Singh becomes 1st Indian MMA winner in Argentina, reveals opponent said: ‘Iss age mein haddiyan judti nahi’
In a chat with HT City, wrestler Sangram Singh opens up about his MMA victory, aggressive opponent and working out in the plane before the match
Indian wrestler and MMA fighter Sangram Singh became the first Indian to win a Mixed Martial Arts fight on Argentine soil on April 5. He beat French fighter Florian Coudier, 16 years his junior, in one minute and 45 seconds at the Tigre Sports Club stadium, Buenos Aires. This completed Sangram’s hat-trick of wins in MMA, following victories in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). Sharing how wrestling techniques helped him, Sangram says, “I have been wrestling for the last 30-32 years. I am very fortunate that I started mitti kushti, then I got to play on the mat for the country. Then there was a time when there was no money in sports so I moved to professional wrestling. I became the Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, world’s best professional wrestler. MMA mein 70-80% wrestling hai. Toh kick, punch ya doosri technique chhod do, main wrestling ki technique use karta hun jaise uthana, girana, grip karna. That was the reason why this bout got over in that in 1 minute 40-45 seconds, this bout was over.”
The wrestler explains, “When the match began I tried to punch him. Uski 2-3 kick mujhe bohot lagi, ribs aur knee pe lagi. Toh maine kaha bachha hai, yeh saari cheezein karta rahega. I understood his punches were not right and guessed that he has a wrestling background. Toh phir maine wrestling technique ke hisaab se, ussi ki taakat se, kar liya.” Before the match, Sangram even worked out on his flight to Argentina: “Kaafi lamba travel tha. Main plane mein workout kar raha tha, toilet mein jaata tha, 400-500 push-ups karta tha, apni seat pe baith ke pranayam kiya. New York ki flight Delhi se 17-18 ghante ki thi. Maine plane mein workout kiya, New York mein 10-12 hours tha wahan pe workout kiya, phir wahan se 10-11 hour ki flight thi to Buenos Aires, maine usme bhi workout kiya.”
Revealing how he stayed calm even though his opponent was aggressive, Sangram says, “Cricket mein kehte hain sledging karna. Face off se pehele usne mujhe bola, ‘Yeh sport young bachho ke liye hai, veterans ke liye nahi.’ Phir usne kaha, ‘Iss age mein haddiyan judti nahi hain.’ I didn’t react or respond, but I observed everything because I didn’t have any old video of him fighting. After the match, his coach told him that I am a professional wrestler. He came to me and said sorry. I told him, ‘Koi baat nahi. Aapke father sports khelte hain? Woh mujhe jaante honge.’ Phir maine kaha (laughs), ‘Yeh game bachho ka bhi nahi hai.’ In sports and in life, if you are aggressive, you can’t handle yourself. How will you handle other things?”
Many congratulations to Sangram as he makes the nation proud once again.
