There are phases in sport when young talents don’t emerge, and then there is a sudden burst of a new emerging lot. The 74kg freestyle wrestling division had not seen any budding talent in four years, someone who could take over the mantle from twice Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar. No Indian wrestler qualified in the category at the Tokyo Olympics. Now there are two youngsters—Yash Tushir and Sagar Jaglan—who could end India’s search in one of the toughest categories.
Tushir broke through last year with a bronze medal at the world junior championships in Russia, a month after Jaglan’s flamboyant, attacking style saw him win gold at the world cadet championships in Hungary.
It is still early days but going by the initial promise, both are explosive talents. On Thursday, they were in full flow at the senior selection trials, fighting with flair and intensity. Tushir’s and Jaglan’s paths crossed in the semi-finals, and though the latter won 10-4, it was one of the most exciting bouts on the day. Tushir built on a well-executed four-point throw. Having lost to Jaglan in an earlier meet, he was well prepared to defend his opponent’s dangerous fitley (leg lace) move. In his first bout, Jaglan had used the move effectively against Sandeep (11-0), but was thwarted by Tushir.
Tushir defeated Narsingh Yadav, a former world championships bronze medallist, in his first bout, turning around a 0-6 deficit with fast counters to win 10-6. He went on to beat national champion Pritam in the final, pinning him at 8-4 with 11 secs left on the clock. It got him the big break of competing in the year's first major tournament—the Asian championships in Mongolia from April 19.
Delhi’s Tushir has trained under former wrestler Anil Mann. Mann says his ward and Jaglan have the potential to excel in 74kg at the world level. “They have done well as juniors and so far shown good progress. If they have such discipline and focus, one of them can go on to win a berth for India in 74kg at the Paris Olympics,” he said.
“Yash has improved in the last three years and it is showing in his results. He won bronze at world junior, and silver in the senior nationals where he lost to Pritam. He had lost to Jaglan earlier but today he defeated both. We worked on certain things and he has executed it well. He is an attacking wrestler. He is not going to sit on a small lead and will keep scoring. He fights with that mindset,” said Mann, who was at the Tokyo Olympics as a national coach.
Jaglan, 17, is three years younger to Tushir. He is already making waves in the senior circuit. He trains under Ashwani Dahiya in Kharkhoda. He won the senior ranking series tournament in January. “Yash is 2-1 up against me now. After he got four points with a big move, it was difficult for me to come back. I need to prepare well for him when we meet next,” Jaglan said.
E-Paper
_1648233834617_1648233840158.jpg "Yash Tushir and Sagar Jaglan compete in the 74kg freestyle semi-finals of the national wrestling selection trials at the IG Stadium on Thursday. (HT Photo/Amal KS)")
