CHENNAI: Sushil Kumar had beaten Georgian wrestler David Pogosian 6-3 to make it to the 60kg semifinals of the 2003 Freestyle World Championship in New York. That was Sushil's fourth bout of the day. His body stiffened up. With no masseur, fellow athlete Kripa Shankar Patel, who had lost his second-round bout to make an early exit, was giving him a massage to help him get ready for the next bout. It was against veteran Arif Abdullayev, a two-time Olympian from Azerbaijan.
The semifinal bout went down to the wire with Sushil, 20 then, losing 8-9 to the eventual winner. He then lost the third-place match to Jae-Myung Song of Korea to miss out on the bronze. It extended India's 42-year medal wait at the Worlds.
"Those were different times. It was not about medals but about representing the country. I have represented the country from cadet to senior category from 1989 to 2010 uninterrupted and was credited for it quite often. Medals were not the yardstick then," said Patel, who despite having such a long career could never represent the country at the biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympics.
A year later, when Sushil headed for his maiden Olympics, he was considered a medal contender. He had already won World Championship twice in the cadet category (one each in 45kg and 50kg) apart from a couple of medals in the senior Asian and Commonwealth Championship in 60kg. By then, India had won only one medal in wrestling. It had come a time long ago — Helsinki in 1952 thanks to Maharashtra's KD Jadhav who had won a bronze. Unfortunately, the wait continued as Sushil finished 14th in his weight category.
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These days, India's medal prospects, no matter which discipline they take part in, have dedicated coaches, mostly from foreign countries, physiotherapists, masseurs, mental trainers and dieticians. They are not only being monitored on the field but eyes are on them off it as well. Dietary supplements are an integral part of their lives. But that was not the case in the past. "National wrestling camps used to be held in Patiala in those days. Forget about dietary supplements, we never got a proper diet then. It will sound awkward but we used to prepare ghee in our rooms at national camps. We were not allowed to have a gas cylinder in our rooms and the authorities used to conduct raids and confiscate cylinders if they manage to find one," recalled Patel.
All of these practices changed in 2008, the year that redefined Indian wrestling. A wiser, stronger and fitter Sushil eventually landed an Olympic medal, but not before a heartbreak. "He was favourite but lost the opening bout to Andrey Stadnik of Ukraine 1-8. Sushil went numb. Despite the loss, I did not lose hope. I was quite sure the Ukrainian will reach the final giving Sushil an opportunity to reach the medal round via repechage. As it transpired, he did exactly the same, pocketing bronze in 66kg weight category," said PR Sondhi, the then men's team head coach.
While Sushil's medal in Beijing created euphoria in the country, the Indian camp was ruing a missed opportunity. "Yogeshwar (Dutt) would have surely finished on the podium in 2008 but a mistake cost him the medal. The Indian government planned a rapturous welcome for us after Sushil's medal but Yogeshwar was hurting inside. He requested us to allow him to leave early so that he can train for the 2012 Games. He left three days early and kept his promise by bagging a 60kg bronze at the 2012 London Games," added Sondhi.
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That medal in 2008 revolutionised Indian wrestling. Despite winning the first Worlds medal in 1961, they managed to win only three in the next 49 years including Sushil's gold in 2010. But since 2011, they have won 13 medals including five at the 2019 Worlds. In Olympics, wrestling remains the only discipline to fetch medals for the country in every Games since 2008. Sakshi Malik became the first woman medallist from the country at the Olympics when she won a 58kg bronze in Rio in 2016.
"The Beijing bronze gave Indian wrestlers hope and confidence that they can win medals in Olympics. That mental block was gone and they were no longer satisfied with mere participation. With government and the federation providing facilities at par with foreign countries, they are now ready to challenge their famed opponents," opined Patel.
Given their exceptional track record in the past three Games, expectations are high this time as well. As many as seven wrestlers will compete in Tokyo and at least three of them are expected to medal this time. If they do, it will be another record. Their previous best was London Games when they won two medals (Sushil's silver and Yogeshwar's bronze).
But ahead of the mega event, the wrestlers have had a fair share of disappointments. The Covid-19 pandemic meant they were deprived of international tournaments for months. As things started opening up this year, they started competing and going on exposure trips. However, the deadly second wave forced them to change plans more often than not.
The plan of the women wrestlers to train in Poland and Hungary hit roadblocks when a couple of them withdrew from it due to injuries. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had to plan an impromptu trip to Estonia after Hungary did not allow Anshu Malik (57kg) to train there.
While Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53kg) got their wish to train in Russia and Hungary respectively, the former injured his knee during an event thus losing out on some valuable match practice ahead of the Games. Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) got stranded in Poland at least for ten days before flying out for Russia. The biggest setback for Indian wrestling was the suspension of Olympic-bound Sumit Malik (125kg) last month after failing a dope test.
But come August 1, these wrestlers will be expected to make the country proud by overpowering their opponents at the Makuhari Messe irrespective of hardships they had to face in the buildup to the Games.
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