Sushil Kumar won for India a most unexpected bronze medal in the 66kg category freestyle wrestling competition in the Olympics on Wednesday.
After his initial-round loss to Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine, no one would have given the 25-year-old Delhi westler a chance to pluck a bronze out of a tough field.
The Delhi man did that in the space of 70 minutes, in the repechage round, scoring three victories that had the small band of Indians in delirium.
Second wrestling medal
It was indeed a bolt from the blue, a welcome one at that, for the disheartened Indian contingent that was still coming to terms with Akhil Kumar’s defeat.
Before anyone in the Indian camp could realise what was going on Sushil, had pulled a bronze out of nowhere. It was the second medal for India in this Games, following the gold by shooter Abhinav Bindra in the air rifle event, and it was also the second ever medal in wrestling for the country, behind K.D. Jadhav’s 1952 bronze. It was also the first time since Helsinki that India was winning more than a medal from one Olympics, the country having also won the hockey gold then.
For independent India, this was the sixth individual medal. Tennis ace Leander Paes (1996), weightlifter Karnam Malleswari (2000) and double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004) had won the other medals, following the one by Jadhav.
It was commendable fare from Sushil, especially the bout he won for the bronze, when he beat the semifinalist, Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhtan 3-1 on points.
Sushil took a 2-1 lead in the first round after the Kazakh had won the first point.
Into the second round, the Kazakh won a point, but in the third round, Sushil revealed steely nerves to gather the crucial point.
In technical terms, Sushil countered the third period to clinch with a scissors kick and ankle pick to defeat the Kazakh.
The Indian supporters jumped for joy and like a true disciple, Sushil walked straight to the former Asian Games gold medallist, Mahabali Satpal, his ‘guru’ who was cheering him from the stands, to seek blessings. Satpal, quite proud of his ward, showered kisses on the lad in appreciation.
Sushil’s joy was complete when the legendary pole-vaulter, six-time World champion Sergey Bubka, who set 35 world records in his illustrious career, presented the medals.
“Every one of those three bouts were tough. I was actually fighting every 15 minutes. I was tired. My opponents were also tired. But, I was confident of winning a medal, through the repechage. We had very good preparation. Maybe, you were not that sure,” said Sushil, as he interacted with the media, after the medals ceremony.
“If we get support like the athletes of leading counries like the U.S., Belarus and Russia, we can also get gold medals. There is no dearth of talent in the country,” said Sushil.
The Asian championship silver medallist who had ended 14th in the Athens Games in the 60-kg class and taken seventh place in the last World championship at Baku, Azerbaijan, said that he could not fight that well in the first bout of the day, against the eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine. The gold went to Turkey’s Ramazan Sahin.
Going all out
“Once I lost that first bout, I knew that I would be out if I lost a match. I was very keen, and decided that I would keep fighting till the end,” said Sushil, who had lost to the same wrestler in the World championship.
In the repechage that allows early losers a chance to go for a medal, Sushil first beat Albert Batyrov of Belarus 8-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; he then defeated Doug Schwab of the U.S. 7-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; before downing Leonid Spiridonov decisively in the match for the medal.
It was such a boost to the Indian camp that one of the boxers, went on to ensure another medal, by winning his quarterfinals in the middleweight class.
After his initial-round loss to Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine, no one would have given the 25-year-old Delhi westler a chance to pluck a bronze out of a tough field.
The Delhi man did that in the space of 70 minutes, in the repechage round, scoring three victories that had the small band of Indians in delirium.
Second wrestling medal
It was indeed a bolt from the blue, a welcome one at that, for the disheartened Indian contingent that was still coming to terms with Akhil Kumar’s defeat.
Before anyone in the Indian camp could realise what was going on Sushil, had pulled a bronze out of nowhere. It was the second medal for India in this Games, following the gold by shooter Abhinav Bindra in the air rifle event, and it was also the second ever medal in wrestling for the country, behind K.D. Jadhav’s 1952 bronze. It was also the first time since Helsinki that India was winning more than a medal from one Olympics, the country having also won the hockey gold then.
For independent India, this was the sixth individual medal. Tennis ace Leander Paes (1996), weightlifter Karnam Malleswari (2000) and double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004) had won the other medals, following the one by Jadhav.
It was commendable fare from Sushil, especially the bout he won for the bronze, when he beat the semifinalist, Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhtan 3-1 on points.
Sushil took a 2-1 lead in the first round after the Kazakh had won the first point.
Into the second round, the Kazakh won a point, but in the third round, Sushil revealed steely nerves to gather the crucial point.
In technical terms, Sushil countered the third period to clinch with a scissors kick and ankle pick to defeat the Kazakh.
The Indian supporters jumped for joy and like a true disciple, Sushil walked straight to the former Asian Games gold medallist, Mahabali Satpal, his ‘guru’ who was cheering him from the stands, to seek blessings. Satpal, quite proud of his ward, showered kisses on the lad in appreciation.
Sushil’s joy was complete when the legendary pole-vaulter, six-time World champion Sergey Bubka, who set 35 world records in his illustrious career, presented the medals.
“Every one of those three bouts were tough. I was actually fighting every 15 minutes. I was tired. My opponents were also tired. But, I was confident of winning a medal, through the repechage. We had very good preparation. Maybe, you were not that sure,” said Sushil, as he interacted with the media, after the medals ceremony.
“If we get support like the athletes of leading counries like the U.S., Belarus and Russia, we can also get gold medals. There is no dearth of talent in the country,” said Sushil.
The Asian championship silver medallist who had ended 14th in the Athens Games in the 60-kg class and taken seventh place in the last World championship at Baku, Azerbaijan, said that he could not fight that well in the first bout of the day, against the eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine. The gold went to Turkey’s Ramazan Sahin.
Going all out
“Once I lost that first bout, I knew that I would be out if I lost a match. I was very keen, and decided that I would keep fighting till the end,” said Sushil, who had lost to the same wrestler in the World championship.
In the repechage that allows early losers a chance to go for a medal, Sushil first beat Albert Batyrov of Belarus 8-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; he then defeated Doug Schwab of the U.S. 7-4 on technical points and 3-1 on points; before downing Leonid Spiridonov decisively in the match for the medal.
It was such a boost to the Indian camp that one of the boxers, went on to ensure another medal, by winning his quarterfinals in the middleweight class.
