Written by By Vahid Bekzadi, CNN
Political unrest and the Taliban’s surge is forcing many to flee, including Kabul’s traditional wrestling fans.
Despite this, some believe that there is more at stake in wrestling than anything that might be attached to it.
In the wrestling ring at Kabul Expo Hall, Agha Baloch of the Afghan Wrestling Federation has his match in hand. Wearing a traditional hat with a turban, Baloch is one of the Afghans for whom the sport is more than just a hobby.
He used to travel to India to train, but now he’s busy training in Kabul with his comrades.
“I’ve been involved in wrestling since I was little and want to keep it alive. I am always training and we try to teach our younger generation, especially boys, to have a good physique,” he said.
Dressed as a sonnet
It’s a sentiment that is shared by some of the world’s more renowned grapplers, and these five men, who came to Kabul from different parts of the world, are testament to their efforts.
Baloch was one of three-quarters of the wrestlers who traveled from India, including superstar Pardeep Sindhu, who got into wrestling when he lived in Australia before returning to his hometown.
All of the fighters are under the guidance of the Afghan Wrestling Federation. It’s a separate organization from the Afghan sports ministry, says federation head Pir Muhammad Reshman, who plans to contest the 2017 freestyle World Championship in Korea.
While these wrestlers — all men — hope to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, there are many more who love to watch the sport from afar.
Truly traditional
Popular across much of the Middle East, wrestling is still a tradition that is practiced in the Iranian-dominated north-eastern Anatolia region of Iran, and in the rest of the war-battered nation.
After a match in Tehran’s Tabriz stadium, former wrestler Reza Rezaei told CNN that wrestling fans gather to watch the match in groups of two, creating a true “form of qanun,” or group prayer.
Iran has also played host to wrestling competitions, most recently in May of this year at Koshar-e-Din in Semnan, where the winners will return to their native lands.
While wrestlers train, women are strictly forbidden from attending wrestling events, say activists, but women are prohibited from attending many other traditional events in the country as well.
Boxing in the fighting season
In the months ahead of the annual “holy month of Ramadan,” Ayman Azizi, a young lawyer and preacher living in the U.S., sends a message to his countrymen.
During the holy month of Ramadan, which comes after the start of the yearly school year in Afghanistan, Azizi says, these young people need to be reminded of their nation’s role in the history of Islam and should be shown how close they are to the cultures of their allies.
“Muslims in Afghanistan and around the world need to know what is happening here so they can share and advance their faith and unity as a people,” he says.