Against All Odds: Pune Wrestler Sunny Fulmali Wins Gold At Asian Youth Championship
His remarkable achievement in the recently concluded championship is being widely praised and highlighted.
Published : November 5, 2025 at 5:32 PM IST
Pune: A 17-year-old wrestler from Lohegaon, Pune, named Sunny Subhash Fulmali, has become an inspiring example of how determination and hard work can lead to success. Despite living in a hut and coming from a family with limited economic resources — his father earns a living with a bull, and his mother sells needles and thread. Fulmali recently won a gold medal in the 60 kg weight category at the Asian Youth Wrestling Championship in Bahrain.
Originally from Beed, the family moved to Pune fifteen years ago and built a makeshift home in an open area of Lohegaon, which is on the outskirts of the city. His remarkable achievement in the recently concluded championship is being widely praised and highlighted.
His family, consisting of his wife and three children, lived in that hut, and Subhash started going door-to-door with a bull. Subhash was fond of wrestling, and since his father was a wrestler too, Subhash wrestled in many places. However, when someone kindly gave them a hut to live in, and their financial situation was difficult, Subhash started teaching wrestling to his three sons in that same dilapidated place.
Sunny, the third son, started wrestling with his two brothers from a young age. Recognising Sunny's talent in wrestling, wrestlers Somnath Moze and Sada Rakhpasare from Raiba Talim in Lohegaon started training him. Impressed by Sunny's wrestling, Sandeep Bhondwe adopted him and trained him, and he won a gold medal at the recently held Asian Youth Wrestling Championship.
Subhash Fulmali told ETV Bharat, "We are from Ashti in Beed district and came to live in Lohegaon fifteen years ago. My father and grandfather were wrestlers, and we are all very passionate about wrestling. I created a wrestling arena in the open space next to our hut and started teaching wrestling to the children."
"I started sending my youngest son, Sunny, to the Raiba Talim here. The wrestlers there told me that Sunny's wrestling was good and that I should send him to wrestler Sandeep Appa Bhondwe's training centre. So I took him there and covered all his expenses for a year. Whatever money I earned during the day, I saved it, and we ate less so that I could spend the money on my son's wrestling training," he recalled.
"A year later, wrestler Sandeep Appa liked his wrestling skills and adopted him, bearing all his expenses. Our livelihood depends on working with bullocks, and even though Sunny had matches recently, we couldn't watch a single one. His wrestling coaches came and told us that he had won a gold medal in the Asian Games. He has fulfilled the dream we had for him, and now we want to see him compete in the Olympics. That's our only dream," added Subhash.
Sunny's mother added, "We don't own a house; we live in this hut in Lohegaon with the land owner's permission. Sunny's father is very passionate about wrestling and taught his sons here. Whatever success Sunny has achieved is due to his coach, Sandeep Appa Bhondve, who adopted him and brought him this far. Our financial situation is very difficult; we have to make a living by selling needles and thread."
Sunny himself said, "My family's financial situation is very bad. Both my elder brothers and I learned wrestling there. Coach Sandeep Bhondve adopted me and kept me in his training centre, where he started teaching me wrestling. I'm also pursuing my education and am currently in the 10th grade."
"After competing nationally, I was selected for the Asian Youth Games, and in the recent Asian Games in Bahrain, I wrestled against players from countries like Iraq, Iran, Japan, and Korea. My final match was against an Iranian wrestler, and I won, securing the gold medal. The first call I made after winning the gold medal was to my coach, Sandeep. I called Bhondwe first, and then I called my parents to inform them, and they started crying on the phone. Now my dream is to participate in the Olympics," he said.
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