Today, Google celebrates India's first professional female wrestler Hamida Banu. The doodle, illustrated by Bangalore-based artist Divya Negi, shows Ms Banu surrounded by local flora and fauna. It also serves as a reminder of women's participation in a sport that was male-dominated in the 1940s and 1950s. “This Doodle honors Indian wrestler Hamida Banu, widely regarded as India's first professional female wrestler,” read the Google Doodle description.
Why is Google honoring Hamida Banu today?
Widely regarded as India's first female wrestler, Hamida Banu was born near Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in the early 20th century. During her career in the 1940s and 1950s, Ms Banu won more than 300 matches.
May 4 was chosen as the date to honor Mrs. Banu because it was on this day in 1954 that she challenged and defeated famous wrestler Baba Pahalwan. He then retired from professional wrestling.
“On this day in 1954, mention was made of the wrestling match that brought Banu international recognition and praise: she had defeated the famous wrestler Baba Pahalwan in just 1 minute and 34 seconds, after which the latter retired from professional wrestling,” Google wrote in the description of the scribble.
About Hamida Banu
Hamida Banu was born into a family of wrestlers near Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in the early 20th century. She took up wrestling at a time when women's participation in athletics was strongly discouraged by prevailing social norms. However, Ms. Banu was “passionate and competed with men anyway, openly challenging all male wrestlers and putting her hand in marriage to the first who would beat her,” according to Google.
Ms Banu's career even expanded to the international arena, where she won in less than two minutes against Russian wrestler Vera Chistilin. “Her name appeared in the headlines for years and she became known as the 'Amazon of Aligarh'. The fights she won, her diet and her training regimen received a lot of attention,” Google wrote.
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“Hamida Banu was a pioneer of her time, and her fearlessness is remembered across India and around the world. In addition to her sporting achievements, she will always be celebrated for staying true to herself,” it added.
Speaking about today's doodle, artist Divya Negi said she was inspired by Hamida Banu's fight against the conservative norms of the time. “During my doodle research, I delved into Hamida's world. It was inspiring to hear that she fought fiercely against the conservative norms of her time. Going against groupthink is one of the hardest things you can do, and being a woman adds another level of complexity. Nevertheless, Hamida persevered and won,” she said.
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