Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (Wrestler): Olympic Medal, Photo, Records

India has been a manufacturer of World Class wrestlers including Hawa Singh, Dara Singh, Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, etc. Wrestling has always been a sport in which India has excelled time and time again. One such prominent figures in Indian wrestling was Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav.

Born on 15^th January 1926 in Satara district of Maharashtra, Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav was the first individual medalist from independent India to win an Olympic medal. Norman Pritchard won two silver medals for colonial India in 1900 but Dadasaheb was the first individual to win a bronze medal for independent India.

India had been a major contributor in the world of Hockey and has won Olympic gold medals for the same, but Dadasaheb was the one to break this jinx and emerged as one of the greatest Indian wrestlers of all time.

He started his Olympic career in the 1948 edition but was unfortunate to end his stint without a medal to his name. However, he was able to grab the eyeballs of Englis coach Rees Gardner with his impressive show in the event and trained him since then till the 1952 Olympics. On August 14, 1984, at the age of 58, he met with a road accident where he lost his life.

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav Birth Date: 15^th Jan 1926
Date of Death: 14^th August 1984
Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Weight: 54 kgs

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav Olympic Medals

He won a Bronze medal in the Helsinki Summer Olympics in 1952 in the Bantamweight category.

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav Wife

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav Awards

In the 1982 Asian Games held in Delhi, he was honoured by making him a part of the torch run.
He was awarded the Chatrpati Puraskar posthumously in 1992-1993 by the Maharashtra Government.
He is the posthumous recipient of Arjuna Award in 2001.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games wrestling venue is named after him.

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav Records

He is the first individual Olympic medalist of independent India.

Other Information:

Dadasaheb started wrestling at the age of 5 when his father who was a wrestling coach took the initiative to train him.
There’s a book based on his life named ‘Olympic Veer KD Jadhav’ by Sanjay Dudhane.
Former Indian wrestler turned producer Sangram Singh is all set to produce a film on Dadasaheb Jadhav’s life.
In 1955, he joined the police force as a sub-inspector and served for 27 long years before retiring as an Asst. Police Commissioner.
He spent his final days in poverty as he had to fight for pension later and was neglected by the Sports Federation.