New Delhi, Aug 20: Freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar winning a historic bronze medal in the 66kg category in the Beijing Olympics today might have come as a surprise to most countrymen, but the Delhi lad is not an unknown quantity in the international circuit of the sport.
Four years back, Sushil first made his tryst with the Olympics in Athens as World No. 4 but eventually succumbed to the pressure and finished 14th in the 60kg freestyle category.
The disappointment in Athens could not dampen Sushil`s indomitable spirit to succeed and he got the chance to give another shot at the Olympics by qualifying for the Beijing Games at the World Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan in September last year. He finished a creditable seventh in the event.
From there onwards, there was no looking back for the Railwayman as he went on to win a silver medal in last year`s Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
2007 seemed to have turned the fortunes of Sushil as he also won a bronze in Doha Asian Games besides pocketing a gold in the Commonwealth Championships in Canada.
He followed it up with a bronze in Asian Championship in Jeju Island, Korea in March earlier this year.
The 26-year-old grappler`s determination to see himself in the podium in an Olympics eventually bore fruit when he scored a stunning win over Kazakhstan`s Leonid Spiridonov today to clinch a surprise bronze medal.
The success was all the more sweet with everyone having lost hope after his first round defeat in the morning, but the steely-willed Delhi wrestler stormed back to create history after winning three repechage rounds.
By doing this, Sushil not only gave India its first medal in wrestling since K D Jadhav`s feat in 1952 but also secured its second medal of the Beijing Games.
His medal also saw India securing more than one medal in the Olympics for the second time after 1952 Helsinki Games.
Sushil`s road to fame was, however, full of difficulties as wrestling being a physical sport needs high endurance level and hours of dedication and hard work.
His proud father Diwan Singh, a driver with MTNL and himself played the ancient sport at the amateur level, ensured that no obstacles come in the way of his son and inducted him the Chhattarsal Stadium in the national capital at the age of 14.
There Sushil learnt the tricks of the trade under the watchful eyes of former Asian Games champion and 1972 Munich Olympian Satpal Singh.
It was Satpal who made the difference in Sushil`s career and right from the start inducted self belief in his charge which eventually proved to be the key in the Beijing Olympics success.
Bureau Report
