Controversy wrestles attention away from grapplers

Overshadows the fact that this is India’s biggest wrestling squad in the Games

July 29, 2016 12:04 am | Updated October 18, 2016 02:14 pm IST

Improved showing: Babita, a former Worlds bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Games champion, has been performing consistently and is capable of landing a medal.

Improved showing: Babita, a former Worlds bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Games champion, has been performing consistently and is capable of landing a medal.

The Narsingh Yadav-Sushil Kumar tussle will go down as one of the shameful incidents prior to an Indian contingent’s departure to an Olympic Games.

It started with Narsingh qualifying for Rio by claiming a bronze medal in the World championship last year and two-time Olympic medallist Sushil, who was out of action for almost two years, demanding a trial between him and Narsingh for the 74kg freestyle slot in the Olympics.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) sticking to the tradition of sending quota place winners to the Olympics and Sushil moving the Delhi High Court and losing the legal battle contributed in the making of a monstrous controversy.

It reached a climax with Narsingh returning positive results for a banned steroid and crying foul. His roommate and an injured Sandeep Yadav testing positive for the same substance and the WFI believing in the ‘conspiracy’ theory made the issue murkier.

The development made Narsingh, who was provisionally suspended, ineligible for the Olympics and turned out to be a huge setback for India’s medal chances.

The detestable story not only distracted the remaining Olympic-bound wrestlers but also overshadowed the preparations of other Indian athletes to some extent.

Instead of celebrating the entry of the biggest Indian wrestling squad, consisting of eight wrestlers in all three styles, in the Olympics, the country had to bear with a never-ending tale of acrimony.

However, the Indian wrestlers will try to beat the chaos and give their best in Rio. Narsingh’s replacement Parveen Rana might be a talented wrestler who has won medals in the World junior championship and Asian championship, but he does not inspire confidence on the biggest sporting stage featuring some of the finest wrestlers, including those from the USA, Russia and Iran.

The best bet

London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt (65kg freestyle) remains the best bet. Enormously experienced, Yogeshwar has recovered from a left knee injury to reach the prime of his fitness and is eyeing a gold medal. He may have to face several formidable opponents, including those from Italy, Uzbekistan and Russia, in his mission.

Sandeep Tomar (57kg freestyle) is another promising lad. He shot to prominence by winning this year’s Asian title. The three-time National champion is expected to give a good show even as fellow competitors from Mongolia, the USA, Iran and Azerbaijan pose serious threats.

Among the women, cousins Vinesh Phogat (48kg) and Babita Kumari (53kg) command respect. Vinesh has made her mark in a short period, winning the Commonwealth Games gold apart from bronze and silver medals in the Asian Games and Asian championship respectively.

Known for her mental toughness and fine wrestling skills, she has to be a medal prospect for India.

The experienced Babita, a former Worlds bronze medallist and a Commonwealth Games champion, has been performing consistently and is also capable of landing a medal. The 26-year-old was lucky to book a quota place after one of the wrestlers was disqualified due to doping violation.

Sakshi Malik, a promising wrestler since her junior days, has proved her worth by securing success in elite events. Her Commonwealth Games silver and Asian championship bronze will stand her in good stead in 58kg.

Apart from top countries such as Japan and Canada and Mongolia, the emergence of other nations in women’s wrestling will test the Indians thoroughly.

The qualification of Commonwealth championship medallist Ravinder Singh Khatri (85kg), who got a quota place the way Babita did, and Asian silver medallist Hardeep (98kg) is a welcome deviation for a ‘weak’ India in Greco Roman. The presence of elite European wrestlers may make the journey tougher for them.

For all the headlines garnered ahead of the Games, the performance of India’s wrestlers will be a subject of interest in this Olympics.

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