NEW DELHI: As soon as the buzzer rang, Greco-Roman chief national coach Hargobind Singh jumped on to the mat to congratulate 87kg gold medal winner Sunil Kumar. The joy around the KD Jadhav Hall in IG stadium on Tuesday was palpable but it was extra special for both of them. It ended a barren spell of 27 years stretching back to 1993, when Pappu Yadav (48kg) last won the yellow metal at the Asian Wrestling Championships. For Sunil, he managed to exorcise the ghosts of 2019, where he had to settle for silver while Hargobind finally got to see somebody from the country win gold 25 years after he became a coach.
The 21-year-old completely dominated Azat Salidinov of Kyrgyzstan to seal the deal by a scoreline of 5-0. “It is a dream come true for me.
To make the country proud and win gold is the best feeling and all the hard work that I have put in over the course of the year has paid off,” the jubilant 21-year-old said. At one point during his semifinal bout, it looked like a distant dream. The wrestler from Dabarpur village in Sonepat was trailing 1-8 after the first round to Azamat Kustubayev of Kazakhstan. Not to be undone, the three-time national champion made a great comeback winning 11 points on the trot to win 12-8.
“I did not panic. Even the coach asked me to remain calm. I was determined not to miss out on gold this time around and my determination paid off,” Sunil added.And like most Greco-Roman grapplers in the country, Sunil was initially a freestyle wrestler before making the jump. When he started out in 2012, he used to participate in ‘dangals’ to earn money. It was only after he joined the Mehar Singh Akhada in Rohtak that the switch happened.“One of my seniors in the academy came back with a gold medal in Greco-Roman and advised me to try my luck in this format. The wait has been worth it. It was my father’s dream to see me become a wrestler and make my country proud. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2010.”
The family saw dark days with them even having to lease all of their farmland. Sunil’s mother Anita Kumar fought on, believing that Sunil would one day make it big. The second youngest of four siblings, Sunil has been a three-time Asian junior bronze winner. But this victory gives a major fillip to not only the grappler but also to the format.
“Indians have historically never been strong in Greco-Roman. But in recent times, we have improved thanks to good training, constant exposure, and the arrival of a foreign coach. Hopefully, everyone can kick on now. When you don’t win something big, it can act as a roadblock. Now that it has been lifted, Greco-Roman wrestling can start flourishing. For Sunil, the sky is the limit,” Hargobind added. While no Greco-Roman wrestler from the country is yet to qualify for Tokyo, the upcoming Asian qualifier presents them with a great chance of making it. “Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have already qualified and they will not be a part. That improves our chances significantly. Also, all other countries will now look at Sunil and be wary because we now have an Asian champion!” the coach signed off.