Two-time Olympic medallist wrestler >Sushil Kumar moving the Delhi High Court with a request to hold a trial between him and Narsingh Yadav to ascertain who will compete in the Olympics in the 74kg freestyle class has evoked different reactions from the wrestling fraternity.
Speaking on Sushil’s move, Narsingh said, “It is a free country, Sushil has the right to go to court. I have bagged the Olympic quota place and I have always been a 74kg wrestler. In the last two-three years I have always produced good results in top level competitions. I am the best wrestler in this weight category and I should go to Rio.”
Former National coach Vinod Kumar, who strongly favoured Sushil’s move, said, “All he is asking for is a trial. He is not asking the court to send him to Rio. He trained hard in Georgia along with a team of eight wrestlers and the Government spent money on his training. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) did not tell him anything at that time and even now it has not said whether it will hold a trial. So, Sushil had no option but to move court.”
Two-time Asian Games gold medallist Kartar Singh said the WFI should have handled the issue better. “Sushil is a star wrestler with two Olympic medals, while Narsingh has earned the Olympic quota place. However, Sushil has not participated in any big international event in this weight for a long time.
“The WFI should have taken a decision on this issue much earlier. It should have told Sushil that he should take part in international competitions in order to be in contention,” said Kartar, also a former WFI secretary.
Kartar said this duel between Sushil and Narsingh for an Olympic quota place was not in good taste. “This is neither good for the country nor wrestling. At this point of time, the wrestlers should focus on their training instead of getting involved in all this.”
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