Wrestling has long occupied a sacred corner of India’s sporting consciousness. One may wonder why wrestling, when most of our countries' youth sip a daily doze of finely aged cricket. Because it has given the country Olympic medals, national heroes and a legacy that predates most modern sports.
Yet, the legacy sport has often existed on the fringes, respected, but not celebrated; admired, but not commercialised.
That contradiction is exactly what ONO Media’s acquisition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) rights from the Wrestling Federation of India seeks to address.
Dayaan Farooqui, Chairman and Promoter of PWL, thinks wrestling does not need reinvention; it needs re-presentation.
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How can wrestling win back India's heart? PWL bets on youth and women
While sitting for an exclusive interview with News Ei Samay, the outlet correspondent tossed a question to Farooqui: “What cultural shifts do you think must happen in India’s sporting DNA for wrestling to truly occupy that space?”
He clarified, “Wrestling has always been a deeply rooted Indian sport, evolving from the Akhada to the modern mat. Wrestling already exists in our cultural DNA, and the shift now is focused on how it is consumed, celebrated and positioned to the audience, and PWL is that platform that helps with expressing this focus. Wrestling is a homegrown sport, born from a culture, and it is our duty to ensure it is promoted with the grandeur it deserves in today's era of sporting leagues.”
PWL Chairman: "Our Goal is to Make Wrestling a Sporting Virasat for India" File Images Balancing the tradition remains PWL’s central challenge, so no one can just lament it as just the Indian UFC. Farooqui insisted, “PWL bridges the gap between the Akhaada and the Mat by bringing the authenticity of Indian wrestling into the mainstream. While we modernise the presentation, the core ethos remains intact. Our vision is to build Indian wrestling into a global sporting superpower without losing its Indian soul.”
“My vision as a chairman is to give wrestling and wrestlers the platform they truly deserve. A key milestone for us will be when wrestling is widely recognised as a sporting Virasat and becomes aspirational for young audiences. The increasing participation of Gen Z athletes in PWL is an early signal, and we believe they will inspire the next generation to see wrestling as a mainstream career path.”
Notably, as an Indian sports lover dealing with the success of Women’s Cricket, the 2026 PWL format also places renewed emphasis on women’s wrestling.
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“India is at a stage where opportunity in sports is equal across genders, and that is also the Olympic mandate. PWL is designed to ensure women's wrestling is competitive, visible and integral to the format,” the PWL Chairman added.
“Over the next decade, I aspire to make wrestling a sport that evokes the same level of passion and excitement as cricket in India. PWL should be a national platform that constantly nurtures grassroots talent and gives India world and Olympic champions that Indian wrestling truly deserves,” Farooqui concluded.
