Rising Sunil sparks dreams of podium for greco-roman

Placed 33rd at the start of the cycle, Sunil leaped 29 spots after winning silver at the Rome Ranking Series and gold at the Asian Championships in New Delhi.

Sunil Kumar, Greco-Roman wrestler

He might not be as famous as Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, but Sunil Kumar is arguably the most improved Indian wrestler in the last year. The 87kg Greco-Roman grappler was fourth in the rankings United World Wrestling (UWW) issued on Thursday night.

Sunil Kumar has leapfrogged 29 places this year to be placed
fourth in UWW’s 87kg Greco-Roman rankings

Placed 33rd at the start of the cycle, Sunil leaped 29 spots after winning silver at the Rome Ranking Series and gold at the Asian Championships in New Delhi. The latter was India’s first in 27 years at the event.
As per UWW’s regulations, the top four in each category will be given seedings at the Olympics, helping them avoid clashing against each other in the initial rounds.

The 21-year-old is five points away from third-placed Uzbekistan grappler Rustam Assakalov. A podium finish in the last Ranking Series (in June in Warsaw) could improve his rank further. But the first thing on Sunil’s mind would be to qualify for the Games when the world body announces new dates for the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier.

“The seeding will help only when he qualifies for Olympics. But the rank will surely build his reputation. Opponents will be wary of him at the qualifier, and that can work in his favour,” India’s Greco-Roman national coach Hargobind Singh told this daily.

Hargobind believes that a couple of Greco-Roman wrestlers are Olympic medal contenders, and can surprise everyone with their performances. “We have time by our side. The more time they get, the more they’ll improve. Greco-Roman wrestlers were never medal contenders in the past, but this time the story will be different. Sunil and Gurpreet Singh (77kg) have potential to end India’s drought in the Games.”

Sunil and five other wrestlers in Olympic categories were training in Baku (Azerbaijan) when they were asked to cut their trip short due to the pandemic. They were also accompanied by Hargobind and foreign coach Temo Kazarashvili.

“We might have left Baku in a hurry. But the exposure trip was a learning curve as the wrestlers got to train with quality opponents. It will give them a lot of confidence for future events,” Hargobind signed off.