India’s Olympic Firsts: KD Jadhav’s unimaginable solo in 1952 and a son’s efforts to get recognition for his father | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: On September 9 in 1975, Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav wrote a letter to Maharashtra‘s Inspector General of Police. “I am submitting herewith detailed information about my career as a sportsman.” That was the first line of the letter. India’s only individual Olympic medallist at that time, and for a further 21 years after, was pleading his case for a promotion.
The six-page hand-written letter, which KD’s son Ranjit Jadhav has preserved, is a sorry read. It’s like a hallowed feat brought to its knees, like asking a diamond to prove its worth.
Jadhav was a man who dwarfed a mountain that India thought was unscalable. His wrestling bronze at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki expanded India’s focus beyond hockey. But the signs of it had emerged four years earlier, in 1948, during independent India’s first appearance at the Games under the tricolour.
For a ticket to the London Olympics, the 22-year-old Jadhav was pitted against national champion Niranjan Das. At over six feet in height, Das towered over the 5-feet-5-inch Jadhav. But it was Jadhav who found himself on the plane to England in 1948.
In London, Jadhav didn’t disappoint the Maharaja of Kolhapur, who, according to historical accounts, had financed his trip. Jadhav finished sixth there.
It was also 1948 when Jadhav’s academic career had moved from the Tilak High School in Karad to the Rajaram College in Kolhapur. A gifted athlete, Jadhav’s prowess as a sportsman went beyond wrestling. The captain of the kabaddi team during his high school days, Jadhav was equally adept at swimming, mallakhamb and throwing events in track and field.

(Photo Courtesy: Ranjit Jadhav, son)
From 1948 to 1952, he ruled the wrestling arena at the Bombay and Poona University championships. Writing about his achievements in the above-mentioned letter to the IG of Maharashtra Police, Jadhav mentions that post his 1952 triumph, he was not allowed to participate in that wrestling championship. The zonal committee had passed a resolution that “I had no competitor in that event.” That was the stature of Jadhav’s exploits.
It’s not conclusive whether that resolution was passed before or after Jadhav won the historic Olympic bronze, but his trip to the Games in Helsinki followed a script similar to London four years ago.
A book in Hindi, titled ‘Olympic Veer Khashaba Jadhav’ and authored by Sanjay Dudhane, mentions the story.
The Maharaja of Patiala, who also headed the Indian Olympic Association at that time, ordered a selection trial after Jadhav and other wrestlers complained of bias by officials at the Nationals, which also doubled up as a selection event for Olympics. An unbeaten run at the trials earned Jadhav a place on the Olympic team. Both Jadhav and Das made it to the squad.
But that wasn’t the only hurdle. Crowd-funding was once again needed for Jadhav to make the Finland trip. To ensure he didn’t miss out because of financial constraints, the principal of Rajaram College went beyond his limit to help out his meritorious student. Principal R Khardikar mortgaged his house to raise Rs 7000 for Jadhav’s trip.

(Photo Courtesy: Ranjit Jadhav, son)
In order to remember and return the money later to all who helped, Jadhav gave a receipt to everyone who contributed.
“I found it [the receipts] in whatever he had stored. So I kept it safely,” said his son Ranjit, talking to Timesofindia.com.
In Helsinki, while most of India had set their eyes on the velodrome in the Kapyla Sports Park, which hosted the men’s hockey competition, Jadhav kept rolling out his ‘daavs’ (moves) to progress on the wrestling mats. The ‘Dhak’ (gripping the opponent in a headlock before flinging him around) and his small build had earned Jadhav the name ‘Pocket Dynamo’.
He defeated Adrien Poliquin, Leonardo Basurto and Ferdinand Schmitz before losing to Rashid Mammadbeyov. Exhausted, Jadhav got little time to recover before his next match against the eventual gold medallist Shohachi Ishii. But reaching that far and despite losing to Ishii, Jadhav ensured a historic Olympic medal for India.
It’s been stated that he was accorded a princely welcome upon return to his hometown, with a festive procession that took hours to reach his home.

(Photo Courtesy: Ranjit Jadhav, son, on the right)
Jadhav’s son went on to name their house in Goleshwar (in Satara, Maharashtra) as the ‘Olympic Niwas’. “It was his wish,” said Ranjit.
And to mark the town as part of India’s Olympic history, the local authorities installed a figure of Olympic rings in memory of the son of the soil.
In 1955, the celebrated Indian wrestler was recruited by Maharashtra Police as a sub-inspector, but a knee injury dashed his hopes of featuring in his third Olympics.
While with the state police force, he continued to contribute both as a player and a coach, for which he qualified from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala in 1962.
But largely, Jadhav’s story turned into that of a forgotten hero, whose memories were revived only in 1996, when tennis ace Leander Paes’s singles bronze became only India’s second individual Olympic medal.
In the year 2000, Jadhav was given the Arjuna Award posthumously. But he still remains the only Indian Olympic medallist without a Padma award.
“There was not much worth in his life later on. Such a big tragedy he had to face,” said Ranjit. “My father was a down-to-earth man. He never said anything [publicly], never promoted himself. Because of that, ek gumnam maut mili [he died quietly, not known to too many people]. It was sad,” Ranjit recalled, while talking to TimesofIndia.com.

(Photo Courtesy: Ranjit Jadhav, son)
Ranjit underlined his sentiment with an incident.
“At the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, when there were just two days left before the opening ceremony, his [Jadhav’s] name was not in the list [of invitees]. A journalist reminded the authorities about that. After that, his ticket and invitation came in at the last minute. That was sad.”
Jadhav spent just over a year in his hometown after retirement, before he died in an accident.
“I was just 13 years old when my father passed away…(now) I have been desperately trying to get my father’s feat recognised with a posthumous Padma award. I have been trying so hard, running from pillar to post. He should have got it in the 1950s, when it was started, when he was alive,” lamented the son of the legend.