Weight training is part of a Kushti wrestlers daily routine too. KOLHAPUR, INDIA: THIS ANCIENT form of wrestling requires men to become CELIBATE and train for twelve hours a day ? and some recruits are just SIX years old. In one image, a man tackled a young boy to the ground pinning him upside down during an intense training session. In another, several thousand spectators watched on as teenage fighters competed for the title of champion. Photographer, Mitchell Kanashkevich (39), from Sydney, Australia, was in Kolhapur, India, when he photographed these traditional Kushti wrestlers on his Canon 5D MKII camera - providing rare insight into a seldom seen world. Kushti wrestling ? also known as Pehlwani - is practised on soil. Due to the strict training, diet, and required celibacy, it?s becoming increasingly unpopular amongst younger generations. The origins of this form of wrestling date back to the 5th millennium BC where its precursor, Malla-yuddha was practised. Becoming a Kushti champion earns you tremendous respect and glory. Still in existence today, Kushti wrestling schools train wannabe champions with a strict 12 hours-a-day training regimen. The youngest trainees are just six years old. mediadrumworld.com / Mitchell Kanashkevich