August 20, 2008. For everybody involved with Indian wrestling and its followers, the day remains a watershed moment. It was the day Sushil Kumar defeated Kazakhstan’s Leonid Spiridonov in Beijing to win an Olympic medal in this discipline after 56 years. Back in 1952 in Helsinki, KD Jadhav had clinched the same metal to give independent India its first individual medal at the Games. After three rounds failed to produce a winner, Sushil’s bout was decided by the ‘clinch rule’. In this, each wrestler is represented by a ball of the colour they are wearing.
It’s either blue or red. The referee takes one ball out of a bag and its colour determines who gets the opportunity to grab his opponent’s leg for a final 30 seconds. Sushil lost the toss, handing his opponent the advantage. But he bounced back, picking up valuable points to emerge victorious. This bronze medal started the golden era of Indian wrestling. Sushil went on to become the world champion and bettered his Olympic record by winning silver at the next edition in London. Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze made it an unprecedented double for Indian wrestlers. Sakshi Malik created history in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 by claiming bronze and becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal. Although Jadhav had achieved a first, it was Sushil’s performance that opened the floodgates. Perception about wrestling started changing.
“Rewards and recognition started pouring in after Sushil’s Beijing feat. It inspired other wrestlers to work hard for Olympic glory,” said Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). “Policies framed by the government Olympic Podium Scheme helped this lot pursue their dreams. Today we have a second line of wrestlers, who can fill in the gaps left by the seniors. started grooming wrestlers from a young age. Funds are no longer a big issue. A medal prospect can have personal coaches and go on exposure trips without worrying about money.”
Of the 26 medals (not counting the two silver medals in athletics won by Englishman Norman Pritchard, who represented India in 1900) India has won at the Olympics so far, 11 have come from men’s hockey. It remains a standout tally with eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals. The 15 individual medals are from boxing, badminton, shooting, weightlifting, tennis and wrestling. Wrestlers have stood on the podium on more occasions than athletes from other disciplines except for hockey. More strikingly, four of the five medals have come in the last three Games, making wrestlers the country’s most consistent performers. “With all the facilities provided, our wrestlers are not aiming for Olympic qualification, but medals. The selection trials are transparent and the federation has hired good foreign coaches after selecting them through a thorough screening process,” Tomar opined.
The performance is likely to improve at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, given that four wrestlers have already qualified for the big event from the World Championships in Kazakhstan in September last year. With two more qualifiers to go, this figure is likely to increase. At least four are favourites to medal. Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53kg) have reaffirmed their status as the biggest prospects by finishing first at the recent Ranking Series event in Rome. After his World Championship bronze, Ravi Dahiya competed in another weight category in Rome and still came first.
Though Deepak Punia hasn’t followed up his World Championship silver with more success, the youngster has time to recover from the dip in form. He is ranked second in his category and a couple of good performances in the upcoming events will hold him in good stead for the Olympics. Like Deepak, the duo of Bajrang and Vinesh are ranked second in their categories in the United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings. Ravi is placed fourth. Decent outings will further improve their seedings, thereby delaying match-ups with other top wrestlers until the later rounds at the Olympics.
Most of these wrestlers have gone on exposure trips and are likely to camp in foreign countries to train with international wrestlers in the months to come to be in good shape. Vinesh went to Bulgaria for high-altitude training before the selection trials. She immediately left for Kiev after the trials to prepare for the Ranking Series.
The Haryana wrestler then had a stint in Budapest before moving back to Kiev again. Bajrang is in Georgia with personal coach Shako Bentinidis at the moment, while Ravi and Deepak are undergoing training in Russia with their coach Murad Gaidarov.
This advent of youth doesn’t are still to qualify for the Olympics. Sakshi lost the trials in her Olympic weight category (62kg) to Sonam Malik, Championships by winning a slot in 65kg. With Sonam failing in the Ranking Series, Sakshi stands a chance of reclaiming her place in the India squad. Another failure can put Sonam out of contention, while a good show at the Asian event can help Sakshi make a comeback. “Wrestling is the only sport that has fetched medals for the country in the past three editions. The previous performances have led to bigger expectations from the wrestlers and we hope to live up to them. Four have already qualified, which itself is a record,” said Sakshi. “As far as my qualification is concerned, I am hopeful of making it to the squad in the next two qualifiers.
I hope to bag yet another medal for the country to finish off in style,” she added. Sushil didn’t participate in the trials due to an injury, but the WFI will be keen to give him another chance. A dismal show by Jitender in 74kg in Rome has boosted the two-time Olympic medallist’s chances of making it to the squad for the qualifier. A few more can qualify for Tokyo, especially from the women’s section. “If we talk about women’s wrestling, Vinesh is the brightest medal prospect. Apart from her, Sakshi, Anshu Malik (57kg), Divya Kakran (68kg), Kiran Godara (76kg) and Nirmala Devi (50kg) can shine on the big stage. They still have a chance to qualify and I hope a couple of them make it.
A more accurate prediction can be made after two months,” said Kuldeep Malik, national women’s team coach. Sushil’s bronze might have marked a new dawn for Indian wrestling, but the Tokyo can witness another pathbreaking moment if this generation of fighters can absorb the pressure and perform to their potential. Wrestling is the only sport that fetched India medals in the last three editions of the Olympic Games. As Tokyo 2020 comes closer, consistency of this bunch raises expectations. Firoz Mirza explores what makes them click and how good their chances are... ernment like the Target Olym- The WFI under president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has mean end of road for veterans like Sushil and Sakshi, who lik, but she has qualified for the upcoming Asian
OLYMPIC WEIGHT CATEGORIES
MEN’S FREESTYLE 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125
Deepak Punia (86), Bajrang Punia (65), Ravi Dahiya (57) have secured qualifications. Indians can only qualify in the remaining three categories
WOMEN’S FREESTYLE 50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76
Only Vinesh (53) has made the cut. Five slots available for Indians GRECO-ROMAN 60, 67, 77, 87, 97, 130 Nobody has qualified yet
UPCOMING OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS FOR INDIANS
1 2 Asian Continental Qualification Tournament in Xian, China. March 27 to 29. Venue might change due to the coronavirus outbreak. World Qualification Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. April 30 to May 3. Finalists in each category qualify for one quota place for their respective countries.
CAN GRECO-ROMAN END DROUGHT?
Greco-Roman wrestlers have never been among the prospects at the Games so far, but things have started to change of late. Three returned with medals from the Ranking Series. Gurpreet Singh clinched (82kg) gold. Sajan Bhanwal (77kg) and Sunil Kumar (87kg) won bronze and silver, respectively. A lot of eyes will be on them in the Asian Olympic qualifier in March. The 2016 contingent remains the biggest for Indian wrestlers. There were three in men’s freestyle, three in women’s freestyle and two in Greco-Roman. Narsingh Yadav, however, did not eventually take part for failing a dope test