Zeenews Bureau
Beijing, Aug 20: Wednesday, the 20th of August turned out to be a golden letter day for India, as unheralded grappler Sushil Kumar clinched a bronze medal while boxer Vijender Singh assured himself of at least a bronze to give the country a record three medals for the first time ever.
After Abhinav Bindra`s gold-winning feat during the first week of the sporting extravaganza, the 25-year-old Sushil Kumar shot into fame by winning a bronze medal in the wrestling arena while Vijender has put himself on course for a silver or gold medal on a historic day for Indian sports.
Sushil and Vijender`s heroics not only provided the late sparks to what was otherwise turning out to be a dismal campaign but also created a record of sorts as India had never returned with three medals from a single Olympics.
India had won two Olympic medals in the 1952 Helsinki Games when the hockey team won gold medal and wrestler KD Jadhav won a bronze medal, a record which stood untouched for 56 long years.
While Sushil and Vijender did the country proud, there was some heartbreak with another medal contender, pugilist Jitender Kumar, losing his quarter-final bout despite a valiant effort in the ring.
After days of disappointments, it turned out to be a day to cherish for the Indians as Sushil found his way to the record books by becoming only the second wrestler in India`s Olympic history to win a bronze medal in the men`s 66 kg freestyle category.
Vijender then brought more cheers for the contingent by beating Ecuador`s Carlos Gongora in the quarter finals of the 75 kg category with a 9-4 verdict.
Sushil`s campaign seemed nearly over when he lost his first round battle against eventual silver medallist Andriy Stadnik but repechage provided him a ray of hope and the Indian proved simply irresistible as he beat three grapplers on the trot to win the bronze.
Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came up with an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab (USA), Albert Batyrov (Belarus) and finally the losing semi finalist Leonid Spiridonov (Kazakhstan) in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of history.
Incidentally, in the 2006 Doha Asian Games also, Sushil had beaten Leonid to win bronze.
"Probably you may say that there was no expectation from the people back home and the media too. But I and my coach (Satpal) always knew I had a fair chance of winning a medal and I`m happy I could achieve that," a beaming Sushil said after winning the medal at the China Agricultural University here.
"While it is good not to have that burden of expectation on your shoulder, I think we can give even more provided we get better facilities," said the wrestler.
Against Leonid, Sushil grabbed early initiative by scoring two technical points that proved decisive in the end.
Though the Kazakh grappler scored one in the second period and managed to thwart Sushil, the Indian proved his superiority again in the third period and eventually prevailed 3-2 to trigger frenzied celebration among the Indians present at the venue.
"I thought I`ll do whatever it takes and the end result is the medal is mine. It`s an unforgettable moment in my life and it seems I`m living in a dream," Sushil said.
Meanwhile, Vijender Singh made up for the disappointment of Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar not making it to the medal round by ensuring at least the bronze by becoming the first Indian boxer to enter the Olympic semi-finals at the Beijing Games here on Wednesday.
A little over an hour after Jitender Kumar had fought valiantly but lost his flyweight quarter-final bout, his Bhiwani stable-mate Vijender pummelled Ecuadorian Carlos Gongora 9-4 to enter the semi-finals.
Vijender made sure India got its first-ever boxing medal and also made it the first occasion that an Indian contingent will return home from an Olympic Games with more than two medals.
In the semi-finals, Vijender will clash with Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux, who edged out Uzbek Elshod Rasulov 9-7 on points and may well fancy his chances against the 23-year-old Cuban.
