CHENNAI: Entering Chhatrasal Stadium feels a bit like the opening to ‘The Chamber of Secrets’. With just one tiny difference. There are no mythical creatures waiting to be summoned by parseltongue. The beast that prowls and breathes inside Chhatrasal is of a different nature. One gets a sneak peek right at the entrance thanks to a couple of posters on either side of a 20-foot metal gate. “Two-time Olympic medallist.” The posters have other words inscribed but the above-mentioned ones comes with its own gravitas. Sushil Kumar, after all, is independent India’s only individual double Olympic medal winner.
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There are two youngsters grappling with each other on an Olympic-sized wrestling mat. They are in full wrestling gear. A third, whose size suggests he is more senior to the two, is outside. For an outsider, it looks like he is preparing to face the winner of the bout going on. A fourth, Vinod Kumar, Sushil’s personal coach, is running around the mat.
Express, who has been asked to wait, takes in the mood. While this continues for a good 30 minutes, a fourth active wrestler enters the dimly-lit room inside the stadium. “Pradeep,” Kumar calls out. This newspaper’s interest piques. Pradeep, who has sparred with Sushil from time to time, is here. So Sushil could not be far behind. Disappointment follows. Pradeep responds: “Woh soo raha hai. Mujhe nahi lagta sir ayenge (He is sleeping. I don’t think sir will come).”
The sir in question is never identified but a minute after Pradeep’s response, Vinod says the wait will be futile. Sushil is worshipped like the Pope and most fledgling wrestlers treat Chhatrasal like it’s the Vatican but nobody really knows where he is and when he will come. The 35-year-old, who will compete at his first Asian Games since Doha in 2006, doesn’t just spar with promising youngsters. His matches are broadcast live around the facility.
“The TV in this room is mainly used to show Pehalwanji’s matches. If it’s live, there is no wrestling in this room and 30-40-50 kids watch him in action. Otherwise, we just download and teach the kids to show the techniques he used and so on,” Vinod explains. The insight is welcome but Sushil, Vinod further informs, won’t be making a pit-stop. “Don’t think he will be coming today. Pehelwanji has changed his practice timings to Indonesia time (IST + 1.30) so that he’s in the zone and ready to go during the tournament.”
The kids were told the same thing and their reaction was, predictably, met with disappointment. But make no mistake. While he isn’t there, the stadium is everything to him. It’s his home away from home. That’s the reason why even when the whole wrestling contingent went on an exposure trip to Turkey, Sushil stayed back.
He spoke about its significance a few days later during a promotional event. “I was a small kid when I went to Chhatrasal,” he said. “I wasn’t getting a place to stay in the akhada. My first coach had thrown me out of the stadium. He said my body wasn’t strong enough to become a wrestler. But I never lost hope. I kept working hard, till the staff and coaches surrendered to my stubbornness. Today, I am not only here, but I am also a sports officer here (at Chhatrasal).” He has stopped referring to it as ‘just as a place’. It is ‘now my sanctum sanctorum’.
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While the Khel Ratna awardee isn’t thinking of retirement yet, he is very much in the autumn of his career. That much is evident when sportspersons start playing the role of coach-cum-athletes. A role he enjoys. “I keep getting these young aspirants to train with me,” during the same function. “I want them to learn while I am training. They get their dose of motivation and I get my required training.”
Speaking of training, how confident is he of success at Jakarta? He doesn’t make any promises but says ‘I am focused’. When his first bout begins, Vinod and the other senior staff will halt practice and switch on the sports channel before calling 30-40-50 kids of all age-groups to that dimly-lit room.
swaoop@newindianexpress.com