NEW DELHI: AS SOON as Hardeep Singh’s bronze in 97kg was confirmed, Greco-Roman national coach Hargobind Singh warmly embraced foreign coach Temo Kasarashvili. The joy both exuded was no less than last night after Sunil Kumar’s gold winning feat. The reason: India managed to surpass their medal tally from last year’s Asian Championships.
While the grapplers earned four medals in China, this year at the IG Stadium here, they accounted for five including that elusive yellow metal. Wednesday saw India win three more bronze medals through Ashu in 67kg, Aditya Kundu in 72kg and Hardeep. As soon as both coaches stepped into the mixed zone, the first thing Hargobind uttered was, “Our main aim was to surpass last year’s count. We have gone above and beyond that. It feels great especially considering Greco-Roman is the poorer cousin of freestyle in our country.”
The national coach was quick to point out the technical improvements since Kasarashvili’s arrival. “As most Greco-Roman wrestlers are initiated into the sport through freestyle, they start training specifically for Greco after a certain age. Technical deficiencies remain as freestyle is more about ground wrestling with the lower part of the body as a major weapon. We are working on them. Indians have good strength and endurance. It will take time but we are on the right path,” Kasarashvili said.
While the fact that most do not start off with Greco-Roman is a major hurdle, the lack of competitive exposure is another. “We hardly go out for camps and tournaments. But I have to admit, since I joined, the number of tournaments have gone up and this bodes well for the future,” Kasarashvili added. Kasarashvili, whose contract expires after the Tokyo Olympics, knows what it takes to become a formidable force in the world of Greco-Roman wrestling. The former Georgia, Poland and Egypt coach says the sport can flourish in India but it needs time. “India is a result-oriented country. We want medals. I understand that but you should see the marked improvement as well. In the last two Asian Championships, nobody expected us to win the number of medals that we ended up with. Now even gold has arrived. The mental block is gone. Good times will come but a bit of patience is required.”
While medals at the continental level is a good start, is not enough in an Olympic year. The inevitable question pops up: how many can actually make it big at Tokyo? “The main aim is to ensure two can qualify. Most big European countries get three to four. If we start qualifying with regularity, then we can start thinking of medals. There is very less time now to change anything drastically.” The other good thing about this coaching pair was the bonhomie on display. Nobody tried to steal the other’s thunder. Lots of times, we hear Indian coaches clashing with their foreign counterparts. There was nothing like that here with Hargobind even acting as translator. “We have a good rapport and we bounce ideas of each other. I hope he gets another contract and we can continue working together. I’m sure at the pace at which we are going, the next Olympics can be a game changer.” The next step for the Greco Roman wrestlers is a twenty day camp in Azerbaijan starting at the end of the month.
Indians on Day 2
l 60kg: Gyanender | Lost bronze bout
l 67kg: Ashu | Bronze
l 72kg: Aditya Kundu | Bronze
l 82kg: Harpreet Singh | Lost in Rd 2
l 97kg: Hardeep | Bronze