Akram Pahalwan

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Akram Pahalwan (1930–1987), also known as Iki Pehlwan, was a Pakistani wrestler trained by The Great Gama in Lahore. He began wrestling in 1953 and soon fought across East Africa, earning the nickname “The Lion” after defeating Idi Amin. He competed in about 280 major matches in the 1950s and won the Champion of Malaya title in Singapore in 1958 by beating Hari Ram. In the 1960s he joined the Bholu Brothers tag team, one of the era’s top teams, and faced stars such as Anton Geesink and Antonio Inoki. He toured the UK in 1967. In 1968, in Suriname, Geesink knocked him unconscious. He also injured his left arm in a match in East Pakistan. In 1976 the Bholu Brothers were named world champions and planned a match with Inoki; Inoki won when Pahalwan’s arm broke under a chicken wing armlock, ending his career. He died in Lahore in 1987.