Comparative Analysis of Selected Psychological Traits Between National and International Wrestlers of India

Wrestling represents one of the oldest forms of combat. Literary references to it occur as early as in the Iliad, in which Homer recounts the Trojan War of the 13th or 12th century B.C. The origins of wrestling go back 15,000 years through cave drawings in France. Babylonian and Egyptian reliefs show wrestlers using most of the holds known in the present-day sport. In ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality. During the Middle Ages (fifth century to fifteenth century) wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France, Japan and England. Early European settlers in America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them if they came from England. The settlers also found wrestling to be popular among Native Americans. Amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of the North American colonies and served as a popular activity at county fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The first organized national wrestling tournament took place in New York City in 1888, and wrestling has been an event at every modern Olympic Games since the 1904 games in Saint Louis, Missouri (a demonstration had been performed at the first modern Olympics). The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) originated in 1912 in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, Iowa. Based on the methods of selecting the winner, wrestling in India can also be divided into another two categories like the `Orthia` and the `Kato Pale`. In Orthia type, the wrestler has to throw the opponent on the ground for three times consecutively to win the match. The process continues until one wrestler comes out with flying colours. The Kato Pale type of wrestling demands the wrestler to accept defeat by raising his right hand with the index finger pointed. However, the rules of wrestling in India vary according to the various regions of the country. Wrestling in India has witnessed the rising of several eminent wrestlers, so far. The legendary Indian wrestler, Karim Bux became the first wrestler to defeat Tom Canon of England in 1892. Another eminent Indian wrestler, Gobar Guha became the World Champion in Wrestling in San Francisco in 1922, by defeating the hook wrestler Ad Santel. The renowned Indian freestyle wrestler, Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadav won bronze medal in the 1952 Olympic Games. Another eminent Indian wrestler was Salwinder Singh Shinda, who won the Chandigarh Kesari Award, four times. Some of the other legendary wrestlers in India include Kikkar Singh, Gulam, Rajeev Tomar, and Arjuna Awardees in wrestling like Anuj Chaudhury and Malkit Singh Kanjli. Apart from them, in the recent years, wrestling in India is witnessing the rise of some wrestlers, who have a high potential to revive the dominance of India in the international wrestling arena. The famous Indian wrestler, Sushil Kumar has won Bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Apart from the conventional way of wrestling, there is also another type of wrestling in India which has earned significant popularity, nowadays. This is called as sports entertainment and the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and TNA are two of the most popular events in this form of wrestling. Some Indian wrestlers have become successful in this form of wrestling. The wrestlers include, Sonjay Dutt (TNA), Dalip Singh (the

The present study was conducted on 80 wrestlers who were categorized in two groups, i.e. national (N=50) and International (N=30). The players, who had participated at various international competitions and were selected for national wrestling coaching camp being conducted for the Asian Senior Wrestling Championship held at Doha from 5th to 10th May, 2015. The coaching camp was held at Sports Authority of India, Sonepat Centre, Haryana. Fifty players who had participated at various senior national wrestling competitions and never played at international level were considered as National Players as subjects for this study. The subjects were selected on purposive sampling method. Out of various psychological variables which are associated with performance in wrestling, the scholar selected following psychological variables were selected as criterion variables: 1. Self Confidence. 2. Aggression. 3. Extroversion and Introversion In order to find out significance of mean difference between national and international wrestlers of India, independent ‘t’ test has been employed. Before employing independent ‘t’ test, the outliers in the data and the normality of the data has been checked through box plots and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test respectively. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

To understand the nature of the data, various statistics such as mean, standard deviation, standard error of mean, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis were calculated. The descriptive statistics pertaining to the self confidence has been presented in the table 1.

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics related to self-confidence of international and national level wrestlers. The mean, standard error of mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis of the International level wrestlers on self-confidence was found to be 7.96, 0.87, 4.77, 59.9%, 0.40 and -1.04 respectively. Whereas, the mean, standard error of mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis of the national level wrestlers on self-confidence was found to be 20.42, 1.41, 9.99, 48.9%, 0.08 and -1.41 respectively. The respective values of skewness reveal that the curve for the data was nearly (very little) positively skewed as the statistic of skewness was positive but slightly more than zero. The distribution of data about the mean was found to more as the value of kurtosis was less than minus one.

Test of assumptions: The assumption of normality of the data was tested by applying Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. To check the outliers, box plots were used. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the data of international and national level wrestlers has been presented in the table 2.

Where ILR= International Level Wrestlers, and NLR = National Level Wrestlers It is evident that the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.133 for the data of international level wrestlers was found insignificant as the respective sig. values are more than 0.05. This shows that the data of international level wrestlers on self-confidence was normally distributed. Further, Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.149 for the data of national level wrestlers was also found insignificant as the respective sig. values are more than 0.05. This shows that the data of national level wrestlers on self-confidence was not normally distributed. Further, Box Plots were employed for checking the outliers in the data. Outliers are the scores which may severely affect the values of different descriptive statistics.

wrestlers on self-confidence. It is also clear from the above figure that the spread in the data was nearly normal about the mean.

It is evident from the figure 02 that no outliers were present in the data of national level Indian wrestlers on self-confidence. It is also clear from the above figure that the spread in the data was little more but uniformity around the mean was present. The levene’s test for testing the equality of variances has been employed before applying independent t-test and the table for the same has been presented in the table 3.

as its respective sig. value was less than 0.05. This shows that the assumption of equality of variances has been violated for the data of international and national level wrestlers on self-confidence. This significance of Levene's Test for Equality of Variances will be adjusted by shifting the degree of freedom while applying independent ‘t’ test for the comparison of means of selected groups. Independent t-test has been employed to compare the means of international and national level wrestlers on self-confidence and has been presented in the table 4.

Table 4 clearly revels that the value of independent ‘t’ (= - 7.50) was found to be significant as its respective sig. value is less than 0.05. The significance of the independent ‘t’ shows that the international and national level Indian wrestlers were having different level of self-confidence. The difference among the means of the selected groups was found to be -12.45 with a standard error difference of 1.66. For the clear and easy understanding, the graphical representation of the mean scores of international and national level wrestlers on self-confidence has been presented in the figure 3.

Figure 3 shows the means scores of international and national level wrestlers on self-confidence. It is evitable from the figure that the international level wrestlers were having less score on self-confidence which means they were more self-confident. On the other hand the score of national level wrestlers on self-confidence was found to be more which means they were less self-confident. To understand the nature of the data various statistics such as mean, standard deviation, standard error of mean, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis have been calculated. Descriptive statistics pertaining to the aggression of international and national level wrestlers has been presented in the table 5.

Table 5 shows the descriptive statistics related to aggression of international and national level

kurtosis of the International level wrestlers on self-confidence was found to be 167.03, 9.61, 52.66, 31.5%, -0.23 and -1.25 respectively. Whereas, the mean, standard error of mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis of the national level wrestlers on aggression was found to be 192.6, 7.70, 54.49, 28.3%, -0.34 and -1.00 respectively. The respective values of skewness reveal that the curve for the data of both the groups was nearly normal as the statistic of skewness was near to the zero. The distribution of data about the mean was found to more as the value of kurtosis was less than minus one. Coefficient of variation (C.V.) of international and national level wrestlers on aggression is imprinted in the above table. From the above table, it is evident that the data of international level wrestlers on self-confidence was having more spread in comparison to the national level wrestlers’ data. Test of assumptions: The assumption of normality of the data was tested by applying Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. To check the outliers, box plots were used. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the data of international and national level wrestlers has been presented in the table 6.

Where ILR= International Level Wrestlers, and NLR = National Level Wrestlers It is evident from the table 6 that the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.142 for the data of international level wrestlers was found insignificant as the respective sig. values are more than 0.05. This shows that the data of international level wrestlers on aggression was normally distributed. But, Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.173 for the data of national level wrestlers was found to be significant as the respective sig. valueis less than 0.05. This shows that the data of Further, Box Plots were employed for checking the outliers in the data. Outliers are the scores which may severely affect the values of different descriptive statistics.

It is evident from the figure 4 that no outliers were present in the data of international level Indian wrestlers on aggression. It is also clear from the above figure that the spread in the data was nearly normal about the mean.

aggression. It is also clear from the above figure that the scores of aggression were more concentrated towards upper side. The levene’s test for testing the equality of variances has been employed before applying independent t-test and the table for the same has been presented in the table 7.

It is clear from the table 7 that the F-value (0.007) for Levene's Test for Equality of Variances was insignificant as its respective sig. value was more than 0.05. This shows that the assumption of equality of variances has been fulfilled for the data of international and national level wrestlers on aggression. Independent t-test has been employed to compare the means of international and national level wrestlers on aggression and has been presented in the table 8.

Table 8 clearly revels that the value of independent ‘t’ (= - 2.05) was found to be significant as its respective sig. value is less than 0.05. The significance of the independent ‘t’ shows that the international and of the selected groups was found to be 25.56 with a standard error difference of 12.43. For the clear and easy understanding, the graphical representation of the mean scores of international and national level wrestlers on aggression has been presented in the figure 6.

Figure 6 shows the means scores of international and national level wrestlers on aggression. It is evitable from the figure that the international level wrestlers were having low score on aggression which means they were less aggressive. On the other hand the score of national level wrestlers on aggression was found to be more which means they were more aggressive. To understand the nature of the data various statistics such as mean, standard deviation, standard error of mean, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis have been calculated. The descriptive statistics pertaining to the introversion and extroversion of international and national level wrestlers has been presented in the table 9.

Table 9 shows the descriptive statistics related to introversion-extroversion of international and national level wrestlers. The mean, standard error of mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis of the International level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion was found to be 18.53, 2.67, 14.65, 79.06%, 0.62 and -0.32 respectively. Whereas, the mean, standard error of mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis of the national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion was found to be 15.98, 2.17, 15.38, 96.24%, 0.42 and -0.97 respectively. The mean scores of international and national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion shows that both the groups were extrovert. The respective values of skewness reveal that the curve for the data of both the groups was nearly normal as the statistic of skewness was near to the zero. The distribution of data about the mean was found to little more as the value of kurtosis was less than zero.

Test of assumptions: The assumption of normality of the data was tested by applying Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. To check the outliers, box plots were used. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the data of international and national level wrestlers has been presented in the table 10.

Where ILR= International Level Wrestlers, and NLR = National Level Wrestlers It is evident from the table 10 that the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.108 for the data of international level wrestlers was found insignificant as the respective sig. values are more than 0.05. This shows that the data of international level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion was normally distributed. Further, Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic 0.123 for the data of national level wrestlers was also found to be insignificant as the respective sig. value is more than 0.05. This shows that the data of national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion was normally distributed. Further, Box Plots were employed for checking the outliers in the data. Outliers are the scores which may severely affect the values of different descriptive statistics.

wrestlers on introversion-extroversion. It is also clear from the above figure that the spread in the data was nearly normal about the mean but the concentration of the scores was towards lower side.

It is evident from the figure 8 that no outliers were present in the data of national level Indian wrestlers on introversion-extroversion. It is also clear from the above figure that the scores of introversion-extroversion were normally distributed. The levene’s test for testing the equality of variances has been employed before applying independent t-test and the table for the same has been presented in the table 11.

insignificant as its respective sig. value was more than 0.05. This shows that the assumption of equality of variances has been fulfilled for the data of international and national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion. Independent t-test has been employed to compare the means of international and national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion and has been presented in the table 12.

Table 12 clearly revels that the value of independent ‘t’ (= 0.731) was found to be insignificant as its respective sig. value is more than 0.05. The insignificance of the independent ‘t’ shows that the international and national level Indian wrestlers were having same level of introversion-extroversion. The difference among the means of the selected groups was found to be 2.55 with a standard error difference of 3.49. For the clear and easy understanding, the graphical representation of the mean scores of international and national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion has been presented in the figure 9.

Figure 9 shows the means scores of international and national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion. It is evitable from the figure that the international level wrestlers were having high score on introversion-extroversion which means they were more extrovert than national level wrestlers. On the other hand the score of national level wrestlers on introversion-extroversion was also towards extroversion.

The self-confidence component of the national and international level Indian wrestlers has been obtained by administering the Agnihotri’s Self-Confidence Inventory (ASCI). The descriptive statistics for both the groups has been calculated after that and with the help of the descriptive statistic, the researcher got to know that the mean score of self-confidence component for the international level Indian wrestlers was 7.96 and for national level Indian wrestlers it was 20.42. The normality of the data was checked through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and it has shown that the data belongs to international as well national level wrestlers was normally distributed. No outliers were found in both the cases which show that the means of both the groups were a representative score of the groups. Before applying the independent ‘t’ test, the researcher have employed Levene’s test for equality of variances and it was found significant. The significance of the Levene’s test shows that the assumption for independent ‘t’ test has not been fulfilled.This significance of Levene's Test for Equality of Variances was adjusted by shifting the degree of The independent ‘t’ test was found significant as its respective sig. value was found less than 0.05. This shows that the international level Indian wrestlers as well as national level Indian wrestlers differ on self-confidence. The graphical representation of the scores has also been done after employing independent ‘t’ test. The analysis of data pertaining to the self-confidence component shows that both the groups were unequal on this component. The mean values of both the groups shows that the international wrestlers were more self-confident as its value 7.96 indicating very high self-confidence. On the other hand in the case of national level wrestlers it was 20.42 indicating an average level of self-confidence. The significant difference seen among the groups in case of self-confidence may be attributed to the level of exposure and experience of the wrestlers. The aggression component of the national and international level Indian wrestlers has been obtained by administering the Aggression Scale (AS). The descriptive statistics for both the groups has been calculated after that and with the help of the descriptive statistic, the researcher got to know that the mean score of aggression component for the international level Indian wrestlers was 167.03 and for national level Indian wrestlers it was 192.6. The normality of the data was checked through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and it has shown that the data belongs to international level wrestlers was normally distributed but, in case of national level wrestlers it was found to be abnormal. No outliers were found in both the cases which show that the means of both the groups were a representative score of the groups. Before applying the independent ‘t’ test, the researcher have employed Levene’s test for equality of variances and it was found insignificant. The insignificance of the Levene’s test shows that the assumption for independent ‘t’ test has been fulfilled. The independent ‘t’ test was found significant on aggression as its respective sig. value was found less than 0.05. This shows that the international level Indian wrestlers as well as national level Indian wrestlers differ on aggression. The graphical representation of the scores has also been done after employing independent ‘t’ test. The analysis of data pertaining to the aggression component shows that both the groups were unequal on this component. The mean values of both the The significant difference seen among the groups in case of aggression may be attributed to the level of exposure and experience of the wrestlers. In this context the international wrestlers are more exposed to varied game situations thereby apt enough to control the aggressiveness. The introversion-extroversion component of the national and international level Indian wrestlers has been obtained by administering the Introversion-Extroversion Inventory (IEI). The descriptive statistics for both the groups has been calculated after that and with the help of the descriptive statistic, the researcher got to know that the mean score of introversion-extroversion for the international level Indian wrestlers was 18.53 and for national level Indian wrestlers it was 15.98. The normality of the data was checked through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and it has shown that the data belongs to international and national level Indian wrestlers was normally distributed as the respective sig. values were more than 0.05. No outliers were found in both the cases which show that the means of both the groups were a representative score of the groups. Before applying the independent ‘t’ test, the researcher have employed Levene’s test for equality of variances and it was found insignificant in both the cases. The independent ‘t’ test was found insignificant on introversion-extroversion as its respective sig. value was found more than 0.05. This shows that the international level Indian wrestlers as well as national level Indian wrestlers were same on introversion-extroversion scale and both the groups were found extrovert as the scores of both the groups was found to be more than 15. The graphical representation of the scores has also been done after employing independent ‘t’ test. The wrestlers were found extrovert, it means they were more sociable, more outgoing, confident and more active. They were found to be the persons concerned more with external reality than inner feelings.

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