PWL: Sushil's absence affected UP's performance, says Babita

Dejected by the 1-6 loss to Bengaluru Yodhas in a Pro Wrestling League (PWL) clash here on Friday, Uttar Pradesh Warriors' Babita Malik lamented that the presence of team icon Sushil Kumar could have improved the squad's morale and helped them perform better.

Babita was the only UP wrestler to notch up a victory in the first contest of their PWL campaign as the rest of her teammates fell short in their respective bouts at the K.D. Yadav Wrestling Stadium.

"He is a senior wrestler with a lot of experience. If he was with the squad, we would have got a strong morale boost. His vast experienced and technical inputs could have helped us a lot. Our performance would have been a lot better," Babita told the media after the contest.

There has been speculation that Sushil was miffed as he did not get the highest bid at the PWL auctions. The double Olympic medalist got the third highest bid behind Yogeshwar Dutt and Narsingh Pancham Yadav.

The start grappler was also conspicuous by his absence from Thursday's opening ceremony.

A PWL governing council member also vented her ire at Sushil before the start of the contest on Friday, accusing the former World No.1 of being indifferent towards the league.

Talking about Friday's contest, Babita asserted that the Warriors have a lot of quality in their squad and the huge margin of defeat is not a true reflection of their actual ability.

"Both teams were equally matched. There was very little difference in the quality of the squads. The difference in the scores is not a true reflection of the talent in our team," Babita rued.

"Luck also plays a big part. We were a bit unlucky today. "