Rumbles in the ring

Wrestling may not be high on eyeballs or spectator interest but when it comes to medals, it doesn’t lag behind other sports.

Before Sushil Kumar won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he didnt know what being in the limelight meant. He was just one of the wrestlers representing his country and earning laurels along the way.

Things changed after Beijing. Now people know who Kumar is, and even though wrestling still does not command much attention in India, he is glad to have done the country proud. “I have never been interested in being in the papers for reasons other than my sport,” says the 27-year-old from Najafgarh, Delhi.

Kumar is in an upbeat mood after winning the gold medal at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships held in New Delhi last month. The event was a preparatory one for the Commonwealth Games to be held in October, and he is confident of making a good show. India collected seven medals in the event, with Kumar’s fellow wrestlers Ravinder Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Ashok Kumar among the medallists.

Wrestling as a sport has been marginalised, and has none of the glamour and glory attached to sports like cricket and tennis. Wrestlers mostly come from humble backgrounds. Sushil Kumar’s father was an MTNL bus driver and he says his family had limited means. His cousin was a wrestler — although not a professional — who inspired him to take up the sport.

Ravinder Singh has a similar background. “But these difficulties never deterred me from taking up the sport professionally,” says the 30-year-old. Singh hopes this will be a momentous year in his career.

With the World Championships in Moscow in September, followed by the Commonwealth and Asian Games after that, Singh is sure that the grapplers will bring home a lot of medals. “We faced stiff competition in the Asian championships but still proved our mettle,” he adds.

Sushil Kumar remains the medal favourite, but is modest about his chances. “One bad day can ruin your hopes, so I will take each tournament as it comes,” he says. Wrestling didn’t feature in the 2006 CWG, but in 2002 India won a record seven medals, including four gold and three silver. This time around India will face a stiff challenge from countries like Nigeria and Canada.

Preparations for the Games have been in full swing, with rigorous training camps organised all over the country. The top four wrestlers from last year’s national championships have been selected from each weight category.

Kumar knows full well the burden of expectations. “I am still not a big star, and the expectations don’t really bother me as I always go with the same frame of mind, and that is to win a medal,” he says. There isn’t much room for error in wrestling and he is hoping that his medal-winning heroics in Beijing will come in handy. But even if Kumar and his fellow wrestlers do end up with a rich haul of medals at the Commonwealth Games given all the home support, they will continue to go about their business in their inimitable unassuming manner. It’s all about pride and glory for them within their sport, rather than with the celebrity status.