Sushil Kumar's return to action turned out to be a farcical affair as the two-time Olympic medallist rode on three walkovers, including in the semifinals and the final, to claim the 74kg freestyle gold medal on the second day of the National wrestling championship at the Abhay Prashal Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
All the build-up for Sushil's comeback to competitive wrestling was reduced to a damp squib as the former World champion fought less than three minutes put together in two bouts.
His first bout against Lalmalsawma of Mizoram lasted less than a minute and the second one against Mukul Mishra of Jharkhand one minute and 45 seconds. He won both the bouts by pinning his opponents to the mat.
Sushil came to the mat for the next three bouts — against Praveen, Sahin Rathi and former Asian championship medallist Parveen Rana — and returned as winner without a fight.
Apparently, his opponents conceded the bouts due to 'respect' for the legendary wrestler.
The results:
Freestyle: Men: 57kg: 1. Utkrash Kale (RSPB); 2. Ravi Kumar (Del); 3. Amit Kumar (Har), Mayank (UP). 65kg: 1. Sonu (SSCB); 2. Praveen (Har); 3. Surjeet (Raj), Karan (Del). 74kg: 1. Sushil Kumar (RSPB); 2. Praveen Rana (RSPB); 3. Praveen (Har), Balraj (Del). 86kg: 1. Pawan Kumar (RSPB); 2. Deepak (RSPB); 3. Surajvir (Pun), Deepak Punia (Har).
Women: 53kg: 1. Seema (RSPB); 2. Pinki (Har); 3. Priyanka (Har), Diksha Tomar (UP). 57kg: 1. Pooja Dhanda (Har); 2. Sangeeta (Har); 3. Rani Rana (MP), Indu Tomar (UP). 59kg: 1. Geeta Phogat (Har); 2. Ravita (Har); 3. Sakshi (UP), Sarita (RSPB). 62kg: 1. Sakshi Malik (RSPB); 2. Pooja Tomar (UP); 3. Pooja (Har), Manju (Har). 65kg: 1. Ritu Malik (RSPB); 2. Gargi Yadav (RSPB); 3. Shilpi Sheron (Har), Ishika Tomar (UP). 68kg: 1. Divya Kakran (UP); 2. Monia (Har); 3. Kusum (Har), Pinki (RSPB). 72kg: 1. Kiran (RSPB); 2. Manu Tomar (UP); 3. Naina (Har), Kamini (Har). 76kg: 1. Pooja (Har); 2. Kavita (RSPB); 3. Jyoti (Del), Rani (HP).
