Here is all you need to know about Hamida Banu who was a Muslim by religion as Google Doodle pays tribute to the India’s first woman wrestler
If you’re using Google today, May 4, Saturday, it’s the right time to go back to your Google search engine and look around the beautiful artistic image of a woman who might not be very familiar to this generation.
However, the question arises, who is this person and why did Google put her Image? She is no ordinary woman! Google honoured India’s first professional female wrestler, Hamida Banu, on Saturday by creating a stunning Doodle in her honour.
Who is Hamida Banu first Indian woman wrestler aka the Amazon of Aligarh, biography, height, weight, husband and religion
🏆 India's first female wrestler
💪 Over 300 wins
🤼♀️ Defeated wrestler Vera Chistilin, the Russian "female bear" marking India's name on the global wrestling mapRemembering the lioness Hamida Banu, with today's #GoogleDoodle ✨
Know her story here 👇https://t.co/BFfT66vovL pic.twitter.com/WcBTtVpVw9— Google India (@GoogleIndia) May 4, 2024
The Doodle, created by Bengaluru-based artist Divya Negi, features a wrestler clad in a pink, polka-dot attire, clenching her fists in a fighting stance, and surrounded by flora and fauna. This was not it; in addition to the incredible artwork, the search engine giant also offered a brief biography of the professional wrestler.
Describing her for her “fearlessness,” Google also stated that the whole India and all around the world takes her name as a great example and besides this, the world knows her for she being “true to herself.” Meanwhile, users are curious to know more about the brave lady. Here is all you need to know.
Who was Hamida Banu?
Hamida Banu was India’s first ever female wrestler who was also known as ‘Amazon Of Aligarh,’ and was born in Uttar Pradesh. She stood 5ft 3in (1.6m) and weighed 17 stone (108kg), a report in BBC said.
"Beat me in a bout, and I'll marry you." #HamidaBanu #BreakingStereotypes #FirstWoman #Wrestler #History #womeninhistory #wrestling #womenempowement
[Hamida Banu, Google Doodle, First Woman, Women in Wrestling, Women in History of India] pic.twitter.com/4KinFdjJAL
— The Better India (@thebetterindia) May 4, 2024
She was not the only wrestler in her family. Her family’s background of wrestling was something which influenced her to choose the path. She was a Muslim by religion.
Following her interest in wrestling, she travelled from Mirzapur, her hometown to Aligarh and her porfesional training started since then, under wrestler Salam Pahalwan.
She won more than 300 competitions during the course of her career in the 1940s and 1950s. In less than a minute, she defeated Russia’s finest wrestler, Vera Chistilin, also known as the “female bear,” in Mumbai in 1954. Two male wrestling champions, one from Patiala, Punjab, and the other from Kolkata, West Bengal, were defeated by her, according to reports and she would challenge the male competitors saying, “Beat me in a bout and I’ll marry you.”
Hamida Banu made history on this day in 1954 when she defeated renowned wrestler Baba Pahalwan in just one minute and 34 seconds during a wrestling match.
In her last days, she made ends meet by selling dairy products and handmade snacks before she passed away in 1986.
A look at Hamida Banu’s diet
Hamida Banu consumed six eggs, 2.8 litres of soup, 1.8 litres of fruit juice, 5.6 litres of milk, half a kg of butter, two large loaves of bread, a fowl, and approximately 1 kg of mutton and almonds per day.
Who was Hamida Banu married to?
It is reported by BBC that Hamida Banu was married to her trainer and wrestler Salam Pahalwan.