# Maharashtra Kesari

Maharashtra Kesari (transl. "Lion of Maharashtra" in Sanskrit) is an Indian-style wrestling championship, established in 1854 in Maharashtra, India. It is organized by the Maharashtra Kustigir Parishad.

## Prize

Cash prize was awarded to the winner since the start. But since 1982, initiated by wrestler Mamasaheb Mohol, the winner was permanently awarded with a silver mace weighing 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). As of 2008 the winner received a silver mace and a cash prize of ₹51,000 (US$590). In addition, Government of Maharashtra also provided honorary sum amount to the title holders above age 50. Until 2012, to be eligible for this amount, the title holder's annual income had to be less than₹40,000 (US$460). In 2015, the cash prize was raised to ₹1 lakh (US$1,200).
The winners are also eligible to apply for government jobs under sports quota.

## Records

Maharashtra Kesari is a wrestling competition in the state of Maharashtra . This competition started in the year 1961. After India gained independence, the first Maharashtra Champion competition was held in 1953. At that time, the famous wrestler Tukaram Nanasaheb Phalke of Nagarkar Talmi in Pune defeated Gogachach Siddhapa, a big wrestler from Mumbai mill workers, in just two minutes on the Joli Insa. Tukaram Phalke was awarded the Maharashtra Champion (Kesari) trophy.

### Maharashtra Kesari 1961- present

Maharashtra State Kustigir Parishad, established by Wrestling Maharshi Mamasaheb Mohol, has been organizing the highest level 'Maharashtra Kesari' wrestling competition in the state for the last six-seven decades. The aim of this competition is to make wrestling evolve, to make good wrestlers out of the region and help them shine at the country and world level. Maharashtra Kesari is being held in the clay and matt divisions. In this, the winner wrestler from the clay division open category and the winner wrestler from the mattress division open category will fight the final on Matt as per international standards, and the winner of this final fight is declared as 'Maharashtra Kesari' and the honorary mace of Maharashtra Kesari is awarded.

## Winners
### Key

| Symbol | Meaning |
| † | Indicates that the wrestler has won the title multiple times |
| Year | Winner | Winner | Runner-up | Runner-up | Venue |
| 1953 | Tukaram Nana Phalke | | | | Pune |
| 1955 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Mumbai |
| 1959 | Record not available | Record not available | Record not available | Record not available | Solapur |
| 1960 | No Result | | | | Nagpur |
| 1961 | Dinkar Patil (Dahyarikar) | Dahyari, Sangli-Kolhapur | Hanmant Mane / Biraju Yadav? | | Aurangabad |
| 1962 | Bhagwan More | Sangli | Sadashiv Takmoge | | Dhule |
| 1963 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Satara |
| 1964 | Ganpatrao Khedkar † | June Khed, Sangli-Kolhapur | Biraju Yadav | | Amravati |
| 1965 | Ganpatrao Khedkar † | June Khed, Sangli-Kolhapur | Mohan Bhise | | Nashik |
| 1966 | Deenanath Singh | Varanasi-Kolhapur | Chamba Mutnal | | Jalgaon |
| 1967 | Chamba Mutnal † | Kolhapur-Karnatak | Dada Mane | | Khamgaon, Buldhana |
| 1968 | Chamba Mutnal † | Kolhapur | Parasram Patil | | Ahmednagar |
| 1969 | Harishchandra Birajdar | Osmanabad-Latur | Dadu Chougule | | Latur |
| 1970 | Dadu Chougule † | Kolhapur | Parasram Patil | | Pune |
| 1971 | Dadu Chougule † | Kolhapur | Sahebrao Jadhav | | Alibaug, Raigad |
| 1972 | Laxman Wadar † | Kerle, Kolhapur | Mohan Bhise | | Kolhapur |
| 1973 | Laxman Wadar † | Kerle, Kolhapur | Raghunath Pawar | | Akola |
| 1974 | Yuvraj Patil | Koparde, Kolhapur | Raghunath Pawar | | Thane |
| 1975 | Raghunath Pawar | Pune | Agnel Negro | | Chandrapur |
| 1976 | Hiraman Bankar | Chimbali, Pune | Shivaji Pachpute | | Akluj, Solapur |
| 1977 | No result | No result | No result | No result | Chalisgaon, Jalgaon |
| 1978 | Appasaheb Kadam | Sangli | Shivaji Pachpute | | Mumbai |
| 1979 | Shivaji Pachpute | Mumbai | Madar Nabab | | Nashik |
| 1980 | Ismail Shaikh | Solapur | Ramesh Takawale, Hargude | | Khopoli, Raigad |
| 1981 | Bapurao Lokhande (ढवळ) | Satara | Saradar Khushahal | | Nagpur |
| 1982 | Sambhaji Patil | Asgaon, Kolhapur | Saradar Khushahal | | Beed |
| 1983 | Saradar Khushahal | Indore-Kolhapur | Vishnu Bhandari | | Pune |
| 1984 | Ramkisan Lokhande | Kille Dharur, Beed | Shankar Todkar | | Dadar Mumbai |
| 1985 | Vishnu Joshilkar | Kolhapur | Rama Mane | | Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune |
| 1986 | Gulab Barde | Rahuri, Ahmednagar | Dilip Pawar | | Solapur |
| 1987 | Tanaji Bankar | Solapur | Pirmohmmad Attar / Dilip Pawar ? | | Nagpur |
| 1988 | Raosaheb Magar | Nimgaon M, Solapur | Bala Rafi | Puluj | Ahmednagar |
| 1989 | No result | No result | No result | No result | Wardha |
| 1990 | No result | No result | No result | No result | Kolhapur |
| 1991 | No result | No result | No result | No result | Amravti |
| 1992 | Apaalal Sheikh | Boramani, Solapur- Kolhapur | Maula Shaikh / Sanjay Patil ? | Akkalkot, Solapur | Pune |
| 1993 | Udayraj Yadav | Boramani, Solapur- Mumbai | Balu Padgham | | Balewadi, Pune |
| 1994 | Sanjay Patil | Karad, Satara- Mumbai | Maula Shaikh | | Akola |
| 1995 | Shivaji Kekan | Beed | Saheb Solanke / Raju Lonari ? | | Nashik |
| 1996 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 1997 | Ashok Shirke | Ahmednagar | Balu Padgham | | Deoli, Wardha |
| 1998 | Gorakhnath Sarak | Satara | Maula Shaikh | | Nagpur |
| 1999 | Dhanaji Phadtare | Satara | Anil Ashruba Raut / Raju Barguje ? | Beed | Pune |
| 2000 | Vinod Dadu Chougule | Kolhapur | Rahul Kalbhor | | Khamgaon, Buldhana |
| 2001 | Rahul Kalbhor | Pune | Dattatray Gaikwad | | Nanded |
| 2002 | Munnalal Shaikh | Solapur-Mumbai | Chandrakant Sul | Solapur | Jalna |
| 2003 | Dattatray Gaikwad | Pune | Bharat Mekale | | Yavatmal |
| 2004 | Chandrahas Nimgire | Jeurwadi, Solapur | Ravi Patil | | Washi |
| 2005 | Sayeed (Ali Kardoos) Chaus | Beed | Asab Ahmed | | Indapur, Pune |
| 2006 | Amol Buchade | Pune-Mumbai | Aba Sul | | Baramati, Pune |
| 2007 | Chandrahar Patil † | Sangli | Atul Patil | | Aurangabad |
| 2008 | Chandrahar Patil † | Sangli | Sandeep Barguje | | Kadegaon, Sangli |
| 2009 | Vijay (Vicky) Bankar | Sangli-Pune | Sayeed (Ali Kardoos) Chaus | | Sangavi, Pune |
| 2010 | Samadhan Ghodke | Solapur | Nandkumar Abdaar | | Rohe, Raigad |
| 2011 | Narsing Yadav † | Mumbai | Atul Patil | | Akluj, Solapur |
| 2012 | Narsing Yadav † | Mumbai | Vijay Choudhary | Jalgaon | Gondia |
| 2013 | Narsing Yadav † | Mumbai | Sunil Salunke | Mumbai | Bhosari, Pune |
| 2014 | Vijay Chaudhary † | Jalgaon | Sachin Yelbar | | Ahmednagar |
| 2015 | Vijay Chaudhary † | Jalgaon | Vikrant Jadhav | Mumbai | Nagpur |
| 2016 | Vijay Chaudhary† | Jalgaon | Abhijit Katake | Pune | Warje, Pune |
| 2017 | Abhijit Katake | Pune | Kiran Bhagat | Satara | Bhugaon, Pune |
| 2018 | Swapnil M | Pune | Abhijit Katake | Pune | Jalna |
| 2019 | Harshad Sadgir | Nashik | Shailesh Shelke | Latur | Mhalunge-Balewadi, Pune |
| 2020 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2021–22 | Pruthviraj Patil | Kolhapur | Vishal (Prakash) Bankar | Solapur | Satara |
| 2022–23 | Shivraj Rakshe † | Nanded | Mahendra Gaikwad | Pune | |
| 2023–24 | Sikander Shaikh | Mohol, Solapur | Shivraj Rakshe | Pune | |
| 2024 | Shivraj Rakshe † | Pune | Harshad Sadgir | Nashik | Dharashiv |
| 2025 | Pruthviraj Mohol | Pune | Mahendra Gaikwad | Solapur | Ahilya Nagar |
Other Title holders from Maharashtra
Hind Kesari
| Year | Winner | Winner | Runner-up | Runner-up | Venue |
| 1959 | Shripati Khanchnale | Kolhapur | Banta Sing (Punjab Kesari) | | Delhi |
| 1960 | Ganpatrao Andhalkar | Kolhapur | Khadak Singh | | Mumbai |
| 1964 | Maruti Mane | Kavathe Pirhan, Sangli | Mehruddin | | Karnal, Haryana |
| 1966 | Hazrat Patel | Achegaon, Solapur | | | Ahmedabad |
| 1969 | Harishchandra Birajdar | Nilanga, Latur | Jharkhand Rai | | Kanpur |
| 1971 | Deenanath Singh | Kolhapur | Lal Bahadur Singh | Bihar | Nagpur |
| 1975 | Chamba Mutnal | Kolhapur | | | Banglore |
| 2003 | Vinod Dadu Chougule | Kolhapur | Suresh Nad | | Nashik |
| 2005 | Yogesh Dodke | Pune | Pravin Kumar | Haryana | Ahmednagar |
| 2013 | Amol Barate | Pune | Sonu Kumar | Air Force | Bivani, Haryana |
| 2014 | Santosh Vetal | Karad | DevendraKumar | | Haryana |
| 2015 | Sunil Salunkhe | Sangola, Solapur | Hitesh Kumar | Punjab | Jamkhandi, Karnataka |
| 2023 | Abhijit Katake | Pune | Somveer | Harayana | Hyderabad |
Rustam-e-Hind
| Year | Winner | Winner | Runner-up | Runner-up | Venue |
| | Vishnupant Nagrale | | | | |
| 1972 | Harishchandra Birajdar | Nilanga, Latur | Netrapal Singh | Army-Delhi | Varanasi |
| 1973 | Dadu Chougule | Kolhapur | | | Mumbai |
| 2010 | Amol Buchade | Pune | Kamaljeet | Punjab | Punjab |
| 2018 | Asab Ahmed | Indapur, Pune | | | |
| 2024 | Sikandar Shaikh | Mohol, Solapur | Bagga Kohli | Punjab | Punjab |
Olympics
Khashaba Jadhav – Bronze 🥉 Bantamweight 1952 Summer Olympics
National Awards
Arjuna Award
* 1963-Ganpatrao Andhalkar
* 1998-Kakasaheb Pawar
* 2000-Khashaba Jadhav posthumously
* 2012-Narsingh Yadav
* 2020-Rahul Aware
Dhyanchand Award
* 2005-Maruti Mane
* 2006-Harishchandra Birajdar
* 2018-Dadu Chougule