Moral of the story: Don’t mess with a wrestler, even if you are an MLA.
And, now the story.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Arun Yadav entered a wrestling pit in Ara on Thursday during a bout organised to celebrate the 45th foundation day of Bhojpur district.
Yadav, who once dabbled in wrestling and now represents Sandesh in the Bihar assembly, started giving tips to Rajkumar Paswan, a 19-year-old competitor. The young man didn’t want any of it.
As Yadav kept at it, the wrestler grabbed the MLA from his legs, a popular wrestling manoeuvre, lifted him and threw him down in the pit as an amused crowd watched on.
Yadav had to literally bite the dust, with his pristine white clothes smudged with dirt – it was a traditional mud wrestling pit. One of the shoes also came off.
An embarrassed Yadav immediately got up and challenged Paswan as his bodyguard and supporters, too, got into the pit. Bhojpur district magistrate Birendra Prasad Yadav, who was there for the function, stepped in and prevented the situation from turning ugly.
“Let sport remain a sport. We should learn to take it sportingly,” the DM said when reached for comments, refusing to share the exchange between the wrestler and Yadav.
{{/usCountry}}“Let sport remain a sport. We should learn to take it sportingly,” the DM said when reached for comments, refusing to share the exchange between the wrestler and Yadav.
{{/usCountry}}The MLA, however, was in denial and even defended his “record”.
“I would not wrestle in shirt and trousers, though I have been a good wrestler in my time, between 1981 and 1990,” he said. “I was just showing him a few daon (wrestling moves). I was teaching him patt (a move to overthrow the opponent) that I turned and lost balance.”
Television channels twisted the whole episode, he told HT over phone from Patna.
Whatever the MLA’s view, the young wrestler hardly looks the eager pupil in the video. See it for yourself.