American wrestling was a gladiatorial sport in the 1920s and Singh and Goho were its ‘Oriental’ draws. 4 hours ago In July 1929, in a much-anticipated encounter in El Paso, Texas, Matty Matsuda, the Japanese-born champion welterweight wrestler, faced off against Basanta Singh, the Indian challenger who moonlighted as a hop and fruit farm labourer. It was a well-contested match, fought in the catch-as-catch-can style created in the 1870s by the British sports coach JG Chambers by combining several wrestling styles. Newspapers called the bout a “colourful exhibition of the grappling art”. Both men sustaining “flying falls”, but in the end, Matsuda was “outweighed and outmatched”. The Indian’s “bear-hug” vanquished his jujitsu.