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Sports
Reviving traditional Indian wrestling form back into public life, through
training and an annual championship.
The championship
As organised support has faded, so have the spaces where young wrestlers can train and compete. Sreshth Foundation’s sports work creates sustained platforms for training and competition
The annual Malla Yuddha championship is held in memory of Shri Mukesh Goud, who believed traditional sport played an important role in discipline, identity, and community participation. The foundation runs the championship to formal rules across age and weight categories, including a women’s category, with a structured competitive platform and recognised prize categories. The 2023 edition was held over four days at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad and drew 658 wrestlers from across Telangana, including multiple districts such as Adilabad, Medak, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar. The programme aligns with the Government of India’s Khelo India vision for grassroots sport development. The foundation’s sports initiatives now extend across multiple disciplines
Malla Yuddha is a traditional form of Indian wrestling with deep historical roots. The sport involves wrestlers competing in categories based on age and weight, following formal rules and structured competitive protocols. It is a discipline that builds physical strength, tactical thinking, and mental resilience. For centuries, wrestling has been central to Indian martial tradition and community practice.
Traditional wrestling shapes character, builds discipline, and creates community identity. In recent decades, reduced institutional support and diminished competitive platforms have made it difficult for young wrestlers to train seriously and compete at meaningful levels. Without active investment in grassroots competition, the form risks losing the next generation of practitioners. Sreshth’s championship provides the visible, structured stage that allows wrestlers to develop their skills and the sport to remain alive and practiced
The foundation coordinates with wrestling communities, wrestlers, and local wrestling networks to organise and sustain the annual championship. The work is done in partnership with people already committed to the sport, not around them. The commitment extends beyond the event itself. By holding the championship on a consistent, visible stage each year, the foundation signals long-term institutional backing for the sport. This sustained presence creates the conditions for training infrastructure to develop and for young wrestlers to see wrestling as a practice worth committing to.
Ice hockey is an Olympic sport with a small but deeply committed player community in India. The sport remains largely under-resourced and lacks widespread institutional and financial support. Sreshth Foundation supports an active ice hockey team, backing players and enabling their participation in a sport that operates with limited
long-term infrastructure and visibility. The team consists of dedicated athletes competing at competitive levels despite resource constraints.
Sports development does not happen by accident. It requires institutional commitment, resources, and sustained backing. Ice hockey in India survives because of individuals and small communities who remain committed despite limited support. Most of the world’s major sporting powers have invested in grassroots infrastructure for the sports they value. By supporting an ice hockey team, Sreshth signals that commitment to a sport that has otherwise been left behind. This backing makes the difference between players who can train seriously and players who must abandon the sport.
Ice hockey infrastructure in India is concentrated in only a handful of regions across the country. With no ice rink currently available in Telangana, the team’s training and competition require players to travel to locations where the sport has established infrastructure. Sreshth’s role is to enable that participation by covering travel costs, training camps, and competitive expenses. The foundation does not claim to solve the larger infrastructure problem, but it does ensure that the players already committed to ice hockey have the resources to continue playing seriously
