Injured Sushil to travel with World Championships squad

Wrestling icon Sushil Kumar may not be competing in the World Championships due to shoulder injury but the double Olympics medallist on Monday said he will be travelling with India's 16-member men's squad for the event to be held in Las Vegas between September 7 and 12.

Former world champion Sushil -- apart from following the performances of his competitors at the Worlds -- will also work as a mentor to the young grapplers.

"They (Wrestling Federation of India) have told me to travel with the squad to Las Vegas. It is always better if you get to train with your squad, so I will be going with them. I will also get an opportunity to see how others (competitors) are performing," Sushil told reports on the sidelines of the launch of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) here.

"Moreover, I will be helping out our youngsters during training as well as during the matches.

The two-time Commonwealth Games (CWG) champion also wished that Narsingh Pancham Yadav, who took his place in the 74kg freestyle category for the Worlds, bags the country's quota in the category fot the 2016 Olympic Games.

"We wish that he qualifies for the Olympics in the first chance at the Worlds," Sushil said.

The quotas earned by wrestlers are not theirs -- they belong to the country, meaning that the player need not compete at the Olympics. The federation decides the contender for the category for which only one person from the country gets to compete at the world's biggest sporting showpiece.

However, Sushil refused to divulge details about his qualification process to Rio.