Rusty Sushil may skip world wrestling championships
Twin Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar is likely to miss the world wrestling championships to be held in Hungary’s capital Budapest from September 16 to 22. Saurabh Duggal reports.
Twin Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar is likely to miss the world wrestling championships to be held in Hungary’s capital Budapest from September 16 to 22.
Sushil, who clinched the silver medal in the London Olympics to go one better on the bronze he won in Beijing in 2008, has not competed in any tournament or gone on any foreign exposure trip since the 2012 Games and officials indicated he is unlikely to be fielded in the Budapest meet.
However, keeping in mind next year’s calendar, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is considering his name for the coaching camp to be held in Hungary exclusively to prepare for the world meet.
The federation will hold trials at the Sports Authority of India centre in Sonepat on August 13. Two names in each weight category will be forwarded for the coaching camp.
Dhankar likely
In the 66 kg division, Sushil Kumar and Amit Dhankar, the gold medallist in the Asian championships held in New Delhi in April, will be considered. Most likely, it will be Dhankar who will compete in Budapest. The women’s team and men’s Greco-Roman squads will be attending the camp in Hungary from August 26 while the men’s freestyle contingent will train at the world championships venue from August 30.
“Right now, we can’t say anything about Sushil’s participation in the world championships. But he is totally fit and training well. The final decision on his participation will be taken only after analysing his performance during the camp in Hungary,” said chief coach Vinod Kumar. “Sushil already has a world title in his kitty, so our main focus is the longevity of his career. Accordingly, we will pick the tournaments for him.”
Olympic bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt had opted out of the meet because of a knee injury.
