The Doodle celebrates Indian wrestler Hamida Banu, who is widely considered to be India’s first professional woman wrestler. In 1954, the wrestling match that earned Banu international recognition and acclaim was reported - she had defeated famed wrestler Baba Pahalwan, in just 1 minute and 34 seconds, after which the latter retired from professional wrestling. The doodle went live on May 04, 2024, and garnered coverage from over 30 news outlets and various social media platforms in India. Collaborating with the US Google Doodle team was an absolute pleasure, and the entire creative process was so fun that I illustrated several versions of it. Designing the Google Doodle is on every illustrator’s bucket list, and I’m grateful that I get to cross it off mine.
