Yogeshwar Dutt had more than two hours to recover for the gold medal bout. Given that his right calf was aching, the wrestler was a tad disturbed. The very thought of defeat haunted him. After all, he was up against 28 years of pain. That's how long India waited for an Asian Games gold medal in the sport.
His semifinal fight against Katai Yeerlanbieke, a former Kazakhstan wrestler now representing China, had taken a toll on the body. If not for that stunning move called 'bitha nikle', Dutt would have had to be content with a bronze. But he somehow redeemed the situation and fought back from 3-5 and 5-7 down to make the final.
Dutt grabbed Yeerlanbieke's right leg with his left hand and pushed his opponent's left thigh down with his left shoulder. The swiftness of Dutt's move caught the Chinese by surprise and he was helplessly pinned down.
But in the process, India's Olympic bronze medallist also injured his right calf. In fact, it was coach Anoop Kumar Singh who realised that Dutt was not alright.
Dutt sat in one corner of the big room to calm his nerves down. Chief coach Vinod Kumar sat close to him and the duo had a small discussion. As time passed and Yogeshwar controlled his breath, the coaches brought up a rather emotional but unusual topic. Believe it or not, they spoke of the Kargil war. "We told him how our soldiers knew they were going to get hit by bullets. Yet they went on and on," Singh revealed. "We told him he must forget the pain and win the gold for his country."
Dutt was all ears. And when he finally made his way back into the arena, things seemed alright. "He is like a tiger. When he attacks, it's thrilling to watch," Kumar said. The next six minutes were a treat to watch! Dutt dived forward at every given opportunity to grab his Tajikistan opponent, Zalimkhan Yusupov, by the ankle or knee. A point separated the wrestlers in the first three minutes as Tajik grappler withstood the pressure.
Dutt's reputation, that of a "grabber", is well known. So Yusupov was extra careful. He put up a good defensive show in the second round too. But that's when Dutt came up with a different ploy. The London Olympics bronze twisted and turned like a tiger to grab his opponent's back. He then grabbed the Tajik's left leg and seemed prepared to unleash that legendary 'Phee-taale' move of his. But there wasn't enough time for that.
The entire hall erupted in joy as Dutt folded his hands to thank the Almighty. He was delighted to win a second medal at the Asian Games, eight years after his bronze in the 60 kg class in Doha. "The calf pain kept reminding me of my target, of winning gold," Dutt said.
In the other men's bout, Satyawart Kadian lost 2-3 to Magomed Musaev of Kyrgyzstan in the men's freestyle 97kg bronze medal bout. While in the women's section, Japan's Yoshida Saori, a 13-time world champion, had it easy against Babita Kumari in the women's freestyle 55kg bronze medal bout.
DID YOU KNOW?
This is India's first Asian Games wrestling gold since 1986, when Kartar Singh won it at Seoul
Dutt's opponent, Tajikistan's Zalimkhan Yusupov, had scaled down his weight by 5kg within 10 days after finishing fifth in the 70kg category at the World Championships held before the Games in Tashkent
DUTT'S MEDAL CABINET
Olympics: Bronze, 2012 London (60kg freestyle)
Asian Games: Bronze, 2006 Doha (60kg freestyle); Gold, 2014 Incheon (65kg freestyle)
Commonwealth Games: Gold, 2010 Delhi (60kg freestyle); Gold, 2014 Glasgow (65kg freestyle)
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