“In the 1970s, the wrestling here in Australia was not at a sufficient standard compared to the rest of the world,” recalls Don Brown, former President of New South Wales Wrestling.
Don has been refereeing wrestling matches for the last five decades, including state, national and international wrestling competitions.
Highlights
- “Passion is the first requirement to be a champion.” - Choudhry Mohammad Ashraf
- “He made a big impact. His expertise, his leadership, helped improve me a great deal.” Wally Koenig, Silver Medal Winner, 1974 Commonwealth Games
- “He kept us pretty well, in one word, fit.” Raymond Brown, Bronze medal winner, 1974 Commonwealth Games
“They [Australian authorities] imported a Pakistani coach who was like a world champion, and he brought their level of wrestling up.
“Choudhry Mohammad Ashraf worked hard with them [Australian wrestlers], and they all worked hard with him, and it made a difference in how they were performing. Without him, they wouldn’t have achieved what they did achieve."
Choudhry Ashraf wears the Australian coach jersey of 1974 Commonwealth Games and shows his jersey of Pakistani team from 1956 Melbourne Olympics as a wrestler. Source: SBS
“I met the Australian Wrestling squad in Tokyo Olympics, 1964. On every occasion, we used to beat the Australians.
“Australia was one of the best overall countries in all the sports but in wrestling it was different," he says.
“The Australian squad used to watch our training and methods during practice sessions at the international events. They wrote to the Pakistani authorities for several years and invited me to come and coach them. Initially, we refused but after a few years, I was allowed to take a visit to Australia.
(Left) Choudhry Ashraf with the Australian wrestling team; (right) he represented Pakistan in 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Source: Supplied
In 1972, Ashraf came to Australia on a six month assignment.
“I visited and gave practice lessons in schools, local clubs, police academics and universities. I spent a lot of time, teaching them the best world practices and tactics and visited several states and regions.”
Wally Koenig shows his wrestling stance; He won the silver medal at 1974 Commonwealth Games. Source: SBS
In Penrith, New South Wales, Wally Koenig is busy teaching various contact sports to his students.
Though he was only 15 years old at that time, the wrestler won the silver medal in the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
“Ashraf brought new training methods that I quite liked, that I thought were effective and I learnt and utilised,” Wally told SBS Urdu.
“He was good value for the team. There were a lot of different trainings that he employed that I use to this day. I hadn’t seen those techniques prior to his arrival.
“He made a big impact. His expertise, his leadership, helped improve me a great deal.”
Wally Koenig went on to win several competitions for Australia including silver medals in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games and 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.
Raymond Brown won the bronze medal at the 1974 Commonwealth Games at Christchurch, New Zealand. Source: SBS
At the PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Clubs) Illawara, Raymond Brown watches a practice wrestling match between two teenagers.
He was the bronze medal winner at the X British Commonwealth Games. Raymond recalls the competition as being ‘fabulous’.
“It is just one of those things you never forget. I was in the 62-kilos category, top – dog, that sort of thing. We didn’t have a coach at that time. He was our first decent coach."
Raymond Brown (right) standing at the podium to receive bronze medal in wrestling, 1974 Commonwealth Games, Christchurch New Zealand. Source: Supplied
Raymond says he was not expecting to get a medal, but the training really helped him prepare for the tournament.
“Training was really good because we used to go to practice at the Lura beach, with Ashraf there training us. He kept us pretty well, in one word, fit. He had several exercise programs that we had to do. After the workouts, we used to play football to finish the day. We had a good program, a good coach; everybody respected him."
After the tournament, Raymond continued to be an expert in the ring and participated in several local and international tournaments around the world.
(1 silver, 3 bronze) Official wrestling result of the Australian Team who participated at the 1974 Commonwealth Games at Christchurch, New Zealand. Source: Commonwealth Games Australia
From a Wrestler to a Coach
Wrestling continues to be the best sport of Pakistan in the Commonwealth Games. The South Asian nation has won 42 medals in wrestling, 21 being Gold.
In the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Choudhry Mohammad Ashraf won the gold medal in 68 kilos category.
Ashraf says it was a proud moment for him and the team.
“It was an affirmation of the hard work and efforts I put over several years in my games.”
Choudhry Ashraf holds the gold medal he won 62 years ago at the 1958 Commonwealth games, Cardiff, Wales. Source: SBS
With several wins under his belt and medals, he was asked to coach the national team by the Pakistani board.
“I could have continued with my wrestling, but I respected my seniors and accepted the position. I was Pakistan’s national coach from 1960 to 1972 and the wrestlers won Pakistan 75 medals in wrestling."
Official record of Commonwealth Games Australia showing Ashraf's name in the wrestling squad as Coach. Source: Commonwealth Games Australia
In 1962, the Commonwealth Games took place in Perth.The Pakistan team headed by Ashraf as the coach made a big mark in the wrestling arena.The South Asian squad showed their dominance of the sport by winning eight medals.
"Pakistan squad won seven golds and one silver. It was one of the best moments of my life."
Pakistan's wrestling squad smile for a photo after they won 7 gold and 1 silver medal in wrestling at the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games. Source: State Library of Western Australia
What makes a champion?
According to the 92-year-old wrestling legend, “passion is the first requirement.”
“Passion makes you work out day and night and repeat the same drill again and again. It makes you push boundaries. Next is hard work, interest to learn, one has to understand the game too, from points down to every detail and you need a professional to teach the skills. Last but not the least, diet.”
SBS Urdu would like to thank all the individuals and organisations mentioned in the article who contributed to the story.
Choudhry Mohammad Ashraf was earlier interviewed by SBS Urdu in 1999 and later in 2014 (above comments are also taken from these interviews).
Click below to listen to the 2014 interview with SBS Urdu's Executive Producer Rehan Alavi.
