Google Doodle on Saturday, May 4, showcased Hamida Banu on its home page as a tribute to the woman considered to be the first Indian female wrestler. (More Sports News)
Banu, a trailblazer in women's wrestling in India, was a big name in the 1940s and 1950s in a sport that was totally an all-men affair till then.
Such was her confidence that Banu gave out an open challenge saying that she would marry any male wrestler who could down her in a bout.
"Beat me in a bout and I'll marry you," was her challenge to male wrestlers in 1954, BBC reported citing news reports of that time.
Weighing 108kg and standing 5ft 3in tall, Banu had a menacing personality and that coupled with her strength made her an unstoppable force. Many tried containing her, but Banu prevailed.
After her marriage challenge, Banu fought two wrestling champions, one from Patiala and another from Calcutta (Kolkata), and defeated both of them convincingly.
Her third fight after the challenge was in Baroda (Vadodara) and the city went into frenzy ahead of the bout. Banners and posters were put up throughout the city to advertise the contest which as per the BBC report was supposed to take place between the star female wrester and Chhote Gama Pahalwan, a wrestler patronised by the Maharajah of Baroda.
However, the Baroda wrestler pulled out saying that he would not fight a woman.
Banu then fought Baba Pahalwan and won a fall in just one minute and 34 seconds.
By this time, as per the BBC report, Banu claimed to have won 300 matches and the English press called her the 'Amazon of Aligarh', her home city.
She had a big diet to maintain her larger-than-life persona. Her daily diet included 5.6 litres of milk, 2.8 litres of soup, 1.8 litres of fruit juice, a fowl, nearly 1kg of mutton and almonds, half a kilo of butter, 6 eggs, two big loaves of bread, and two plates of biryani, according to the BBC report.
1954 was also the year when Banu defeated Vera Chistilin, dubbed Russia's "female bear," in a bout in Mumbai. The match ended within a minute, BBC said, citing media reports of the time.
The success in a sports that was a male bastion also came with challenges. Banu had her fight with Ramchandra Salunke in Pune cancelled because the federation would not allow a woman to compete.
In another instance, Banu's win against a popular male wrestler infuriated the crowd. The crowd booed and threw stones at her. The situation became so bad that the police had to intervene.
Banu slowly disappeared from the scene but her legacy remained.
