In the middle of the bitter wrangling in Indian wrestling and the washing of dirty linen in full public glare by both the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and some of the biggest names in the sport, one man who has been going about his job with the concentration and dedication of a hermit is Yogeshwar Dutt.
The London Olympic bronze medallist is aiming to turn the colour of his medal into gold this time around and has already indicated that this will be the last of his four Olympic outings. “I wish to go out on a high and I know it is possible,” Yogeshwar says.
The wrestlers are already in Georgia for a final stop before proceeding to Rio and Yogeshwar is the lone wrestler in the eight-member Indian contingent with prior experience of the big Games.
“There is pressure of expectation, pressure of experience, pressure of being the senior-most,” admits the 33-year old.
He also agrees that it will be his toughest outing. “Everyone has seen every opponent’s videos. There are no more surprises anymore. This was true before as well, but with every international tournament you participate in, there is a little extra that the opponents get to know about you.
“Since I have been on the circuit the longest, they know me the best. From experience I can say that there are no easy bouts in Olympics, reputation doesn’t matter there,” he adds.
At the same time, the wily 65kg wrestler has been working during training on developing new techniques, naye daanv as he calls it, to stay ahead of the pack.
“I have had a lot of success with my earlier techniques, but I have been working on new ones as well. The old ones are not defunct, but you can expect something new as well, depending on the situation,” he says with a twinkle.
Having battled most of 2015 with injuries and undergoing surgery on his knee, Yogeshwar knows time is running out for him. He insists he is 100 per cent fit at the moment, but admits that he is taking precaution to avoid any recurrence.
A triumph will seal his name in the history books for eternity. Regardless of the colour, any medal should be enough to ensure that spot.
