“Kamra number 4.” The guard takes pride as he escorts me to the room where the most celebrated tenant of the Chhattrasal Stadium resides. The champion steps out, surrounded by a small group of muscular young men. They stoop to touch each other’s knee before departing in different directions. I am left facing Sushil Kumar, a picture of poise, diminutive in appearance but colossal in terms of sporting achievements.
“I have been waiting for you,” mumbles the champion wrestler. A rare occasion when a sporting achiever is waiting to greet a media person. The room is a modest tenement with an air-conditioner the only evidence of comfort, if one may call it. The walls are decorated with pictures of deities. A young trainee is busy squeezing fresh juice for his favourite “pehelwan”. The kid’s eyes sparkle as Sushil throws a glance at his passionate devotion.
The one who indulges in badmaashi (hooliganism) is not a wrestler. A wrestler will always help women and children
Sushil has a busy schedule. He accommodates request for an interaction but not at the cost of his training. “Shall we talk in the gym,” Sushil asks, polite to a fault. We walk across to the state of the art gym.
Two back-to-back medals at Beijing in 2008 and London 2012, the only Indian to do so in Olympics. His success is marked by amazing humility. What would he attribute to? “Hard work and nothing else! My hard work counts more than my talent. I thank my guru (Satpal) and my parents. They looked after me very well. My father would come at six in the morning and monitor the ropes exercise. I would do 100 at a time. He would make me work hard and then feed me well. My success can be attributed to my guru and parents.”
No talent? Hard to believe. His focus was clear. First, to become and international wrestler. Of course, the dream to win medals was the driving force. “I first aimed at becoming an international wrestler. It was important. Medals never occurred in my thoughts. With experience, my strength grew, skills too.”
He had realised very early that it was going to be a tough journey. “One has to keep innovating when it comes to style and technique. Beijing was about technique. London was talent, technique and strength. I don’t feel any pressure. I don’t think much about it. I get worked up only when I miss my training. I can’t sleep without proper training.”
To Sushil and Yogeshwar Dutt goes the credit for transforming the image of a wrestler. He is no more a bouncer or a muscleman drumming support for politicians. “A good wrestler will always be helpful. The one who indulges in badmaashi (hooliganism) is not a wrestler. A wrestler will always help women and children. The image has changed. A wrestler is no more a bouncer, a menacing figure. He is now bringing glory to the nation through sporting excellence.” What is his profession? “Winning medals is my job but also working to serve the society is also important. You have to be a good human being more than being a good wrestler. I meditate at night and remember god before beginning my day. Pray to save me from injuries.” Sushil, 31, is optimistic as he looks at the future. “We need to improve our facilities. Beijing brought three medals and now we have six from London. Even gymnastics is looking up. I met the gymnasts at Glasgow. You need tremendous strength and grace. I was delighted when Dipa (Karmakar) won the medal.” Posted as the Deputy Commercial Manager in Northern Railway, Sushil, for his celebrity status, continues to sleep on the floor at Room No 4. “From my childhood, I have stayed in this room. Even after wrestlers were allotted separate rooms. For me, it is heaven.” It indeed is, for every trainee in the complex. It is the only room open to them all at any time of day and night!
For long, Indian wrestlers were considered physically strong but unable to compete on level terms at international competitions for lack of technical finesse and unfamiliarity with the synthetic surface. Growing on a traditional diet of milk and nutrient-rich local food, in the muddy akharas across rural India, foreign climes meant the land of pehelwans hardly figured in world sport. All that changed when Sushil Kumar won bronze at the Beijing Olympics and followed it up with a silver four years later. His success, and that of Yogeshwar Dutt, propelled wrestling to the forefront of India’s sporting ambitions and fuelled the dreams of hundreds of wrestling hopefuls, including Amit Kumar Dahiya. The trio, co-trainees at the Chhatrasal Stadium in the Capital under the watchful eye of coach Satpal, have redefined wrestling in India.
