Malla-yuddha such a wrestling match against a visiting champion in Singapore. Traditional Indian wrestling first began to decline in the north after the medieval Muslim invasions when influences from Persian wrestling were incorporated into native malla-yuddha. Under Mughal rule, courtly fashion favoured the Persianate pehlwani style. Traditional malla-yuddha remained popular in the south, however, and was particularly common in the Vijayanagara Empire. The 16th-century Jaina classic "Bharatesa Vaibhava" describes wrestlers challenging their opponents with grunts and traditional signs of patting the shoulders. Sculptures at Bhatkal depict wrestling matches, including female wrestlers. As part of his daily routine, the king Krishna Deva
Gatka students in north India. The traditional training hall for gatka is the akhara. Sikhs may train in a religious or semi-religious situation, such as in a gurdwara (Sikh temple). "Khel" (meaning sport or game) is the modern competitive aspect of gatka, originally used as a method of sword-training ("fari-gatka") or stick-fighting ("lathi khela") in medieval times. Competitors spar using sticks called "gatka", from which the sport derives its name. The gatka are about three handspans long, made from light wood or bamboo and covered in leather. It may be used on its own or paired with another stick but for