Akram Pahalwan ( pa, ) (1930–12 April 1987), also known as Iki Pehlwan was a Pakistani

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...

and a part of the Bholu Brothers tag team in professional wrestling during the late 1960s. Some of his opponents were Haji Afzal (1963),

George Gordienko George Gordienko (January 7, 1928 – May 13, 2002) was a Canadian professional wrestler and artist. Born of first generation Ukrainian and Cossack-Canadian parents in North Winnipeg, Manitoba, by age 17 Gordienko had received numerous awards fo ...

(1967),

Anton Geesink Antonius Johannes Geesink (6 April 1934 – 27 August 2010) was a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championship, a feat he accomplished in 1961 and 1965. He was also an Olympic Champion, ...

(1968) and

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homage ...

(1976) Halal Mahdame (1964).

Professional wrestling career

Pahalwan was initially trained in Lahore as a student of

The Great Gama Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960), commonly known as ''Rustam-e-Hind'' ( Hindi-Urdu for ''Rostam of Hindostan'') and by the ring name The Great Gama, was a pehlwani wrestler and strongman in British India. In the ea ...

. Akram started his professional wrestling career in 1953 wrestling Ugandan and Kenyan wrestlers in East Africa. He defeated Mahindar Singh in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

with a submission hold in a match where Singh’s elder brother was the referee. The East African public named him "The Lion" when he defeated the Ugandan Champion

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

. Pahalwan participated in around 280 major wrestling events during the 1950s. In 1958, he was proclaimed the Champion of Malaya in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

when he defeated Hari Ram. During the 1960s, Pahalwan also remained a part of the Bholu Brothers wrestling team. In 1965, Pahalwan defeated Indian wrestler Hardam Singh at the National Stadium, Karachi in the third round. In 1967 he toured UK. The Bholu Brothers were rated 10th in the 1968 tag team world ratings.''Ring Wrestling Magazine'', "Official World Ratings for December 1968"
/ref> In 1968 Akram wrestled in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

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where he was beaten unconscious by

. Later in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) he injured his left arm in a match against Bill Verna of Australia. In 1976, the Bholu Brothers claimed to be the world champions and slated Pahalwan to fight

. On the day of the match Inoki defeated Pahalwan with a chicken wing armlock. Pahalwan did not submit, but the ring doctor stopped the match because his left arm broke under the submission hold. Pahalwan's wrestling career ended after his match with Inoki.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pahalwan, Akram 1930 births 1987 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Pakistani professional wrestlers Punjabi people