Short answers, pulled from the story.
Pehlwani, also called Kushti, is a form of wrestling developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with the ancient South Asian wrestling tradition of Malla-yuddha. The word Pehlwani means "heroic wrestling," derived from the Persian term pahlavani. It is primarily associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.
The Great Gama, whose full name was Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He became Rustam-e-Hind in 1898 and earned the world champion title Rustam-e-Zaman by defeating Stanislaus Zbyszko in 1910. He had earlier won bouts in London against Ben Roller and Stanley Zbyzsko.
A Pehlwani training day begins at 3 AM with up to four thousand press-ups and squats, followed by a five-mile run, swimming, and weight work. By 8 AM, trainees wrestle continuously for three hours in earth pits, completing around twenty-five matches. The day includes two oil massages and a second two-hour wrestling session in the afternoon, with the wrestler asleep by 8 PM.
The main titles are Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India), Rustam-e-Zaman (World Champion), and Rustam-e-Pakistan (Pakistan Champion). Vishnupant Nagrale was the first holder of the Rustam-e-Hind title. The Maharashtra Kesari and Hind Kesari are also awarded, along with regional titles such as the Rustam-e-Panjab. An unofficial title, the Amazon of Aligarh, was given to female wrestler Hamida Banu in the first half of the 20th century.
Pehlwani nutrition is based on the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, which classifies foods into three gunas. Because wrestling is inherently rajasic (passionate and active), pehlwans eat sattvic (calm and good) foods to maintain balance. Milk, ghee, and almonds form the core of the pehlwani khurak, or diet, with fruits listed in the wrestling monthly Bharatiya Kushti also recommended.
Pehlwani is one of the sports credited with influencing catch wrestling, which in turn partially inspired freestyle wrestling, folkstyle wrestling, and mixed martial arts. The conditioning exercises of pehlwani have been incorporated into both catch wrestling and shoot wrestling. Legendary wrestler Karl Gotch made tours to India specifically to study Kushti and refine his skills.