Strong Government Support for Women’s Wrestling: Guardian Minister Jaykumar Gore Proposal to Allocate Rs 50 Lakh Annually for Women’s Wrestling

Solapur, March 2026 : Guardian Minister Jaykumar Gore on Sunday reaffirmed the government’s strong support for women’s wrestling, announcing a grant of Rs 25 lakh for ongoing competitions and stating that a proposal will be sent to the Chief Minister to allocate Rs 50 lakh annually for women’s wrestling events from next year.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the fourth Women’s Maharashtra Kesari Wrestling Championship and the Senior Women’s State-Level Championship, held at the Haribhai Devkaran School ground. The event also included wrestling competitions for men in various categories.

Several dignitaries were present on the occasion, including MLAs Sachin Kalyanshetti and Sagar Kalyanshetti, corporators Rohini Tadvalkar and Sudha More, Akkalkot Annachhatra Trust President Janmejay Raje Bhosale, and Swati Sakhare.

Gore said the competition, organised in memory of the late Siddharam Sakhare, has become an important platform for promoting women’s wrestling in Maharashtra. He emphasised that such events would help women wrestlers from the state gain recognition at the national level.

Expressing confidence in the potential of women athletes, he said that just as wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat brought international recognition to India, women wrestlers from Maharashtra would also rise to prominence and achieve similar success.

In the final match of the tournament, Amruta Pujari from Kolhapur won the prestigious Hind Kesari title, marking a significant achievement in her wrestling career.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation and a large turnout of spectators, reflecting growing interest in women’s sports. The programme was anchored by Aishwarya Hibbare.