Kripa Shankar Patel Bishnoi (born 5 August 1977) is an Indian professional

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

and coach.

Biography

Kripa Shankar Patel Bishnoi was born on 5 August 1977, in

Khandwa Khandwa is a city and a nagar nigam in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Khandwa district, formerly known as East Nimar District. Khandwa is a major railway junction; the Malwa line co ...

(district of

Harsud Harsud was a town and municipality in Khandwa in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Although the town was more than 700 years old, it was submerged under the waters of the Indira Sagar dam in July 2004. Geography Harsud was located at and had ...

tehsil in Madhya Pradesh). He completed a diploma course in sports coaching at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (India). He passed the

United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of Wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrest ...

International Referee Course with distinction in 2016. Subsequently, Bishnoi was named to United World Wrestling's international panel of referees.

Wrestling career

He has participated in 53 international wrestling competitions, winning 11 gold, 8 silver, and 5 bronze medals. Mr. Patel represented India in Asian cadet wrestling competition held from 3 to 5 December 1989 and by beating the Iranian wrestler K.D. Mohammad with a great score of 8/1 established his first step in international wrestling scenario and then always remained glittering in the whole world representing India. Bishnoi passed the Level-1 coaching course organised under the aegis of Wrestling Federation of India and United World Wrestling (UWW) in the year 2024. He has also rejoined the coaching panel of Wrestling Federation of India.

Commonwealth Games

Competing in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division, Bishnoi was a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

ist at the

15th edition In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

of the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Commonwealth Wrestling Championship Events

Bishnoi competed in Commonwealth Wrestling Championship tournaments, achieving medals in multiple disciplines. He is the only wrestler who made a world record of winning 2 golds in 1 competition but in different categories (

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

and

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

). 2003 (London, Canada) :Silver medal – 2005 (Cape Town, South Africa) :Gold medal – under 55 weight category, Freestyle wrestling :Gold medal – under 55 weight category, Greco-Roman wrestling 2007 (London, Canada) :Gold medal – Freestyle wrestling :Silver medal –

Olympic Qualifying Events

Bishnoi represented India four times in Olympic qualifying tournaments: 2000, Leipzig, Germany, 5th place; 2000, Tokyo, Japan, 10th place; 2000, Minsk, Belarus; 2008, Warsaw, Poland. He also competed at World Cup events in Canada, winning gold in 2003 and 2007. In Canada World Cup Mr. Patel competed with all wrestlers and proved to be a perfectionist in his sport by winning a gold in Canada World Cup (11 to 12 July 2003, Canada).

Asian Competitions

Bishnoi competed in the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games () and the XIII Asiad,, or simply Bangkok 1998 (), were an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and di ...

(Bangkok, Thailand) and

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

(Bussan, South Korea), and in the

Asian Wrestling Championships Asian Wrestling Championships is the Wrestling Asian Championship organized by the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). The men's tournament began in 1979 and The women's tournament was first staged in 1996, and it has been held every year ...

, placing 4th in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(Gulin, China), 4th in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

(Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), and earning a bronze medal in 2003 Asian Wrestling Championships (New Delhi, India). Bishnoi won gold medals at the

7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, and 9th editions of the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

Awards

In 2000, Bishnoi received the ''

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

'' in recognition of outstanding National (India) achievement in sport. In 1994 he was a recipient of the ''Vikram Award''.

Coaching

After retiring from wrestling competition, Bishnoi served as coach for Indian female wrestlers at the senior national coaching camp, contributing to a 2016 bronze medal in women's wrestling in

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

for India. Bishnoi is also a referee.

Bollywood career

Bishnoi was recruited to train

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...

, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, and supporting actors for the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movie '' Dangal''. The film is based on the life of renowned Indian wrestler

Mahavir Singh Phogat Mahavir Singh Phogat is an Indian Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler, senior Olympics coach and politician. He is the trainer and father of the Phogat sisters. The Hindi biographical film ''Dangal (2016 film), Dangal'' is loosely based on his ...

, who coached his daughters,

Geeta Phogat Geeta Phogat (born 15 December 1988) is a freestyle wrestler who won India's first-ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She was also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Games. Personal ...

and

Babita Kumari Babita Kumari Phogat (born 20 November 1989) is a former Indian professional wrestler and a politician from the state of Haryana. She is a multiple Commonwealth Games medalist, winning the gold medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games, and silver meda ...

to gold medals at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

. Working with the actors for over six months prior to filming, Bishnoi focused on wrestling moves and general conditioning. The film was 2017's highest-grossing sports film worldwide. Following the film's release, Bishnoi defended Khan against allegations that the actor has used steroids during his physical training regime.

Controversy

In 2017, the Wrestling Federation of India imposed a six-year ban on Bishnoi, following Bishnoi's criticism of the organization. Bishnoi has become an advocate and vocal proponent of changes he has proposed for regulations governed by the (Indian) National and International wrestling federations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Kripa Shankar 1977 births Living people Indian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1998 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2002 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games wrestlers for India South Asian Games medalists in wrestling Recipients of the Arjuna Award Wrestlers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in wrestling Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Asian Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Indian people 21st-century Indian people Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games