Of stunning upsets and dramatic turn of events

The star attraction of the championship was the Olympic bronze medallist, Sushil Kumar, who won the gold in the 66kg category quite comfortably. Y. B. Sarangi reports.

Spirited comebacks, stunning upsets and dramatic turn of events made the 53rd National Wrestling Championship a memorable event. It offered thousands of rustic fans a rare opportunity to see the Olympic bronze medallist, Sushil Kumar, in action.

Held in the rural environs of Nawabganj, Uttar Pradesh, Sushil, for obvious reasons, was the star attraction of the event and he lived up to the expectations by defending his 66kg freestyle title without much trouble.

Sushil winning the gold medal was a foregone conclusion, as he was a class apart from his opponents. However, his gesture of coming all the way to a remote place and taking the mat gave the competition a huge facelift and attention.

“He is like that, always gracious. After winning an Olympic medal, what was the need for him to come here and participate? But he thought his presence would be beneficial for the sport,” remarked Satpal, Sushil’s guru.

The other important aspect of the championship was the return of performers with proven track records. Arjuna Award winners like Anuj Chaudhary (84kg freestyle), Geetika Jakhar (63kg) and Alka Tomar (59kg) and former champion Sonika (72kg) came out of their sabbatical to emerge winners.

Anuj was out due to a disciplinary action, while Geetika had suffered owing to a political rivalry between two factions in Haryana. Alka and Sonika had been struggling with injuries. Now with National titles in their pockets, these wrestlers want to make the most of the remaining time in hand and prove their mettle at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

A couple of upsets added spice to the event. Having won the appreciation of many old-timers, Haryana’s Mausam Khatri, aged 18, stunned last year’s champion Anil Mann to take the gold in the 96kg freestyle event.

Rachna, also from Haryana, upset holder Neha Rathi before marching ahead in style to take the gold medal in the women’s 51kg freestyle.

A few unsavoury incidents took some gloss out of the championship though. Kripa Shankar, a veteran of two decades and the winner of the 55kg gold last year, chose to fight in the 60kg category this year but only to find his campaign end in an unpleasant manner. In a controversial second round fight, Kripa Shankar alleged that his opponent and reigning champion Krishan Kumar of Delhi bit his hand and was let off. “This is not WWF, biting is not allowed in wrestling. But the referee did not take any action,” the Railways’ wrestler said.

However, the tournament director, Raj Singh, turned down Kripa Shankar’s appeal, saying “it was a rub mark only.”

Another incident happened at the fag end of the championship with Railways’ grappler Devender being disqualified from the final bout (against Dharmender Dalal of Services) for verbally abusing the officials.

Some prominent wrestlers like Yogeshwar Dutt (60kg freestyle) and Palwinder Cheema (120kg freestyle) were missed at the tournament, but one must be a bit lenient towards them as they had won gold medals at a prestigious tournament in France just a few days before the National Championship.

Railways extended its grip over the Nationals by retaining the championship in freestyle and dethroning Services from the top spot in Greco-Roman. Haryana maintained its hold in the women’s section and retained the championship.

This edition of the championship provided some good news about the overall health of the sport. “The standard of the competition was much higher. Wrestlers fought with grit and determination and one witnessed a lot of good contests,” said Ashok Kumar, a judge-cum-arbiter of the International Wrestling Federation (FILA).

“Sushil’s Olympic medal is definitely a big motivation for everybody. Besides, the fact that a few sponsors are now coming to the wrestlers is another morale-booster,” he said.

* * *JARRING NOTES

With India having won its second wrestling medal in the Olympics after a gap of 56 years, one expected improvement in the organisation of the National Championship. But it turned out to be a big let-down. The tournament seemed more like a political event, as the organiser, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Member of Parliament, invited Samajwadi Party leaders, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, to inaugurate the championship. This was marked by long speeches, criticising the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, which was of no relevance to the fans who had come to see India’s top wrestlers in action. Unwanted announcements during the bouts seriously disturbed the officials. Besides, “poor food” and the “absence of other basic amenities” hurt the grapplers and officials, who could not muster the courage to lodge their complaints.

The saddest part, however, was the response of the Wrestling Federation of India’s top brass, which instead of voicing its concerns heaped praise on the organisational skills of B. B. S. Singh.

* * *THE MEDAL WINNERSMEN

Freestyle — 55kg: Gold: Rahul Awane (Maharashtra) ; Silver: Vinod Kumar (Haryana ‘A’); Bronze: Balraj Singh (RSPB ‘A’) & Anil Kumar (RSPB ‘B’). 60kg: Gold: Hardeep Singh (Punjab ‘A’); Silver: Krishan Kumar (Delhi); Bronze: Shyam Lal (UP) & Manoj Kumar (SSCB). 66kg: Gold: Sushil Kumar (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Pradeep Kumar (Delhi); Bronze: Sandeep (Haryana ‘B’) & Sudhir Rana (WB). 74kg: Gold: Harpreet Singh (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Paramjeet Singh (RSPB ‘B’); Bronze: Rajender Bhati (MP) & Sachin Padatare (SSCB). 84kg: Gold: Anuj Choudhary (UP); Silver: Naresh (Delhi); Bronze: Rambir Singh (Punjab ‘A’) & Ravinder (Haryana ‘A’). 96kg: Gold: Mausam Khatri (Haryana ‘A’); Silver: Anil Mann (RSPB ‘A’); Bronze: Narender (RSPB ‘B) & Rakesh Patel (RSPB ‘B’). 120kg: Gold: Rajeev Tomar (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Joginder (Delhi); Bronze: Vijay Pal (WB) & Rohit Patel (MP).

Greco-Roman — 55kg: Gold: Rajender (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Jogender (RSPB ‘B’); Bronze: Surender (Haryana) & Ranjeet Madhok (SSCB ‘A’). 60kg: Gold: Ravinder Singh (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: N. B. Singh (SSCB ‘B’); Bronze: Dinesh Yadav (MP) & Anil Kumar (SSCB ‘A’). 66kg: Gold: Gurbinder Singh (Punjab ‘A’); Silver: Vikram Singh (RSPB ‘A’); Bronze: Satish (Chandigarh) & Sunil (SSCB ‘A’). 74kg: Gold: Rajbir (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Gurbinder Singh (Punjab ‘A’); Bronze: Jitender (RSPB ‘B’) & Naresh Kumar (SSCB ‘A’). 84kg: Gold: Manoj Kumar (SSCB ‘A’); Silver: Harendra Singh (UP); Bronze: Sanjay (RSPB ‘A’) & Santosh Sinde (SSCB ‘B’). 96kg: Gold: Anil (Haryana); Silver: Satish Kumar (Delhi); Bronze: Mahipal (RSPB ‘B’) & Ashok Kumar (SSCB ‘B’). 120kg: Gold: Dharmender Dalal (RSPB ‘A’); Silver: Devender (SSCB ‘B’); Bronze: Rishipal (Delhi) & Rakesh Hooda (RSPB ‘B’).

WOMEN

48kg: Gold: Nirmala (Haryana ‘A’); Silver: Priyanka Singh (UP); Bronze: Rekha (Chandigarh) & Sumel (Delhi). 51kg: Gold: Rachna (Haryana ‘B’); Silver: Krishna Arya (Uttarakhand), Bronze: Anju (Chandigarh) & Neha Rathi (Haryana ‘A’). 55kg: Gold: Babita (Haryana ‘A’); Silver: Manju Sekhawat (MP); Bronze: Kamlesh (Delhi) & Sharmila (Delhi). 59kg: Gold: Alka Tomar (UP); Silver: Anita (Haryana ‘A’); Bronze: Sushma Kundu (Chandigarh) & Nirmala Devi (Haryana ‘B’). 63kg: Gold: Geetika Jakhar (Haryana ‘A’); Silver: Geeta (Haryana ‘B’); Bronze: Rajani (UP) & Pramila (MP).

67kg: Gold: Suman Kundu (Haryana ‘A’); Silver: A. Geeta Rani (Ngl); Bronze: Manjit (MP) & Jyoti (Delhi). 72kg: Gold: Sonika (Delhi); Silver: Gursharanpreet Kaur (Punjab); Bronze: Meenakshi (Haryana ‘A’) & Babita Singh (UP).

Team championships

Freestyle: Men: Railways (59), Haryana (43), Delhi (40).

Women: Haryana (65), Uttar Pradesh (47), Delhi (36).

Greco-Roman: Railways (49), Services (42), Delhi (37).