Sushil Kumar made the most of the repechage rounds to win his first Olympic medal and India’s maiden wrestling medal after 56 years.
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Known for his willpower and never-say-die attitude, Sushil Kumar has made a name for himself by winning against all odds. His incredible journey from Baprola village in south west Delhi to Olympic glory will make him a legend in every sense of the word in Indian sporting history. The 38-year-old wrestler has won numerous international medals, none more prestigious than the two Olympic medals he won in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London. His silver in the 2012 London Games has cemented his place in history as the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals. However, his bronze in Beijing was a watershed moment for Indian wrestling as a whole.
Sushil’s journey to immortality was not an easy one, as it is for many other athletes in the country, with the exception of a few sports. Coming from a family that wasn’t well off, Kumar had to overcome numerous obstacles on his way to the summit. Following the disappointments of the 2004 Athens Olympics, the wrestler was determined to make the most of his opportunity at the Beijing Games. Having lost in the first round to Andriy Stadnik of the 66kg freestyle event, the Indian got a second bite at the cherry through repechage rounds after his opponent reached the final. This time, Sushil made the most of his opportunity, defeating Kazakhstan’s Leonid Spiridonov through a daring scissors move to win his first Olympic medal and India’s first wrestling medal after 56 years.
Kumar was not coming from a well-off family and it was a struggle for his parents to support him in his wrestling career. He was inspired to take up wrestling by his father, who was also a wrestler, and his cousin Sandeep. Infact his cousin later stopped competing as the family was able to support only one wrestler. He was only 14 when he began training in pehlwani wrestling at the akhada or wrestling school at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi.
Sushil began his search for glory at the Chhatrasal Stadium, desperate to make sure his cousin’s sacrifice was not in vain. Satpal Singh, his coach, nurtured his Olympic dream there. Satpal had represented India in the 1980 Moscow Olympics but missed out on an Olympic medal. As a result, he desired to fulfill his dream through his student.
It wasn’t long before Sushil began to realise his full potential, winning numerous honours. Kumar’s first success came after switching to freestyle wrestling in 1998, when he won gold in his weight category at the World Cadet Games. He followed it up in 2000, winning gold in freestyle wrestling at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship.
Sushil then won a bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships after graduating from junior competitions in 2003. He was also ranked an impressive fourth in freestyle wrestling in the 60 kg category at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships.
The young wrestler started to make a name for himself as the Wrestling Federation of India sent him to Bulgaria to prepare for his maiden Olympics in Athens. However, Sushil Kumar’s Olympic debut did not go as planned. At the age of 21, he was knocked out of the 60kg category in the first round by Cuba’s Yandro Quintana, who went on to win the gold medal.
Undeterred by the disappointment, Sushil took the loss in his stride and started preparing tirelessly to make up for his disappointment in Athens. A bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2007 Asian Championships provided him with the perfect confidence boost ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Kumar, who moved up to the 66kg category for the Beijing Games, faced Ukraine’s Andriy Stadnik in his first bout. After losing to the eventual silver medalist, Sushil’s hopes of winning a medal was hanging by a thread. With Stadnik reaching the finals, Kumar was given a new lease on life as he entered the repechage rounds in search of a bronze medal. He defeated Doug Schwab in the first repechage round and followed it up with another victory against Albert Batyrov in the second round.
Next up was Kazakhstan’s Leonid Spiridonov, who was standing in his way for an Olympic medal. Sushil Kumar set the pace, winning the first round 2-1. Spiridonov, however, took the fight to the Indian in the second round and with neither wrestlers unable to score a point in the allocated two minutes, the round went into a tie-breaker through clinch.
Spiridonov won the toss for the clinch and took the advantageous position. The Kazakh gripped Sushil’s left leg and lifted it up in the air. To gain the advantage, the Indian wrestler attempted the kainchi daav or the scissors move, which involves using one’s only standing leg to sweep the opponent off balance and lock him in a leg scissors.
But it was in vain, as the Kazakh wrestler countered and won the round, bringing the score to 1-1. The third and deciding round was also a tight affair and was again scoreless by the end of regulation time. Unfortunately again, Sushil lost the toss for the clinch and Spiridonov took up a similar position of advantage.
With the odds stacked resoundingly against him, Sushil chose the scissor move once more. It took courage to attempt a move he had failed to execute just moments before. Nobody, including the Kazakh wrestler, was expecting Sushil’s daring approach, which the Indian executed it to perfection.
Sushil received the bronze medal as fans in the stadium and across India celebrated his historic achievement. It was India’s first wrestling medal since KD Jadhav’s 1952 triumph. The wrestler from south west Delhi’s Baprola village became a national hero and numerous accolades followed his way. Sushil Kumar’s exploits paved the way for a new generation of wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, to thrive on the international stage, thanks to that one day in 2008.
