Boli Khela

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Boli Khela (or Bali Khela) (Bengali: বলি খেলা) is a traditional form of wrestling in Bangladesh, particularly popular in the Chittagong area. Boli means a powerful person in Bengali, while Khela denotes a game. It is particularly played in the month of Chaitra (March-April) of the Bangla Calendar ^[1]

The present-day boli khela was introduced in 1909 by Abdul Jabbar Saodagar. His aim was to organize the country's youth against British rule. The golden age of this sport lasted from the end of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. Professor Abul Fazal, former vice chancellor of Chittagong University, used to be an organizer of the sport. AK Khan, a Pakistani minister from Chittagong, used be a boli or a wrestler. Nawab Khwaja Abdul Ghani of Dhaka is also known to have organized boli khela at Shahbag a number of times ^[1].