KOCHI: Fans who believe a wrestler is past his prime in his thirties need only look as far as Russian grappler Buvaisar Saitiev. The Russian has won six World Championships and three Olympic titles with the last of those coming in Beijing in 2008 when he was 33. The weight category was 74 kg, the same as Sushil Kumar, who is now returning to the mat at 34.
Sushil was out of action for almost three years after his gold at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Right after that, a debilitating shoulder injury made him skip the Asian Games. By the time he recovered, his berth had been taken by Narsingh Yadav, who had won an Olympic quota and a Rio ticket after a bitter legal battle with Sushil.
Thereafter, not much was known about Sushil as a wrestler other than the pictures that his friends and longtime coach Vinod Kumar used to share on social media. Though Vinod, and at times Sushil himself, vouched that the grappler was eying a comeback, not many paid heed to those words. But when the pictures of the strapping wrestler, still in top shape, breaking a sweat in Tbilisi emerged, people sat up and took notice.
On Saturday, Sushil and Vinod returned from a week-long overseas stint and straightaway headed for a trial organised by Railways to finalise the team for the Senior Nationals to be held in Indore from Wednesday. Without entering the mat, Sushil confirmed his entry as the rival grapplers didn’t turn up.
Sushil said he had recovered from injuries and was raring to go. “I am in top form. My fitness and mental condition are good. I am looking ahead to the Asian and Commonwealth Games.”
The return of Sushil, however, poses a few awkward questions for Indian wrestling. In the history of the 74kg category, only once has a wrestler above 30 won an Olympic medal. The average age of medal winners is 23.83 years. Are we going to place the onus of winning another World Championship or Olympic medal on a man about to enter the wrong side of the 30s? Is the country facing a paucity of quality youngsters to replace the Sushils and Yogeshwar Dutts? Sushil’s return to the national team, provided he wins the nationals, should prompt the WFI to introspect.
A top Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) official fumbled to find a proper answer. “Our young boys are doing good. So let’s see. When the time comes, they will rise to the occasion like Sushil and Dutt had done before,” he said.
Coach Vinod had no doubt that Sushil will participate in the Commonwealth and Asian Games. “He will win the bouts in less than two minutes. There is no competition for him in India. That’s why we went abroad so that he could get a good opponent for sparring,” he said.
With Narsingh still in wilderness and no other talented replacements lurking around, Sushil’s career might go on for a few more years. For Indian wrestling future, that’s not a good sign.
shan.as@newindianexpress.com