Had you ever noticed that Wrestlers had their ears disfigured?

Many of us may not observe them carefully. Almost all wrestlers have their ears disfigured. It is a common sight with most of the wrestlers. There are many reasons behind it. Rio Olympics Bronze medallist Sakshi Malik’s coach Kuldeep Malik has explained why wrestlers have disfigured ears.

Tutte Kan (Disfigured Ears):

People in North India and most of the wrestling clubs call these disfigured ears as the Tutte Kan. It is said that according to one popular belief, people get them disfigured purposely to establish the fact that they are wrestlers. There is also one logical reason which says that due to years of wrestling, the ears get bruised and over the period of time, disfigured.

Kuldeep Malik, the Coach of woman wrestler Sakshi Malik in an interview explained and gave the following reason for disfigured ears.

“According to the conjectures, wrestlers get their ear broken purposely to establish that they are wrestlers. But largely the story of a wrestler getting their ears disfigured purposely is a myth because a wrestler spends almost 20 odd years in wrestling and while grappling with fellow wrestlers; their ears get bruised and roughed every now and then. Over a period of time, their ears get disfigured.”

When asked about hear impairment and any other physical damage to the wrestlers, he said:

“A wrestler doesn’t have ears disfigured to scare people. He can do it with his imposing stature. As far as hearing impairment is concerned, it happens with the passage of time but most of the wrestlers don’t encounter any such issues at any stage of their lives.”

Cauliflower Ears:

These disfigured ears are not just restricted to wrestlers, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters are known to have disfigured ears and they call it the Cauliflower ear.

Another reason for this deformity is due to ignoring head gear. When athletes sweat while fighting, the headgear becomes tough to handle due to the constant movement. Thus, wrestlers and fighters avoid the head gear which leads to Cauliflower ears.