The two-time Olympic medallist had backed out just hours before the start of the inaugural season, refusing to sign his contract with the Uttar Pradesh Warriors.
Despite the controversial last-minute pull-out by Sushil Kumar from last year's Pro Wrestling League (PWL), both ProSportify – commercial partner of PWL – as well as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) are happy to have the wrestler back for the second season.
The two-time Olympic medallist had backed out just hours before the start of the inaugural season, refusing to sign his contract with the Uttar Pradesh Warriors.
A war of words ensued between ProSportify and the wrestler after the latter chose to remain mum over his absence. A PWL governing council member reckoned that Sushil's “priorities had changed”, and that he was too busy with other professional commitments. Parth Jindal, the owner of Bengaluru Yodhas franchise, added fuel to the fire by tweeting that Sushil was “scared” to fight Narsingh Yadav, who was part of his team.
The wrestler broke his silence merely a day after the league ended, saying he was furious by the comments made by ProSportify officials as well as some franchise owners over his non-participation. He added that he had pulled out due to injuries, and that the organisers and franchise owners had no idea about wrestling as well as his stature.
However, the bad blood between the two sides seems to have watered down, with ProSportify saying they will be happy if Sushil gets into the mat for the second season, which is scheduled to begin from December 15.
“We want everyone to participate,” Kartikeya Sharma, founder and promoter of ProSportify, said when asked if they will have any issues about Sushil's participation this year. “Apart from the international stars, wee have requested all Indian players to be part of it, and we'll be very happy if all of them come on board.”
Even WFI, which was involved in a long, ugly court battle with the 33-year-old wrestler during the Sushil-vs-Narsing-for-Rio Olympics saga, hoped that Sushil will take part this season, which has eight teams instead of last year's six.
“We will have no problems if Sushil decides to take part,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said. “Yes, there were issues last year but this is a fresh season, and we would like all Indian wrestlers to play. Sushil is a big name in India, and he can only add to the weight of the league,” he added.
Tomar added that Sushil – like the other wrestlers – will have to fill up a form to express his willingness to participate, after which they will be put in the draft for the auction slated to be held in the second or third week of November.
No-show for Narsingh
Meanwhile, Yadav, who was banned for four years for doping and was ousted from the 2016 Olympics, will have to sit out of the league.
“Unfortunately, Narsingh cannot participate,” Tomar said. “The league follows international rules, and is recognised by WFI as well as the world body (United World Wrestling). Thus, WADA's (World Anti-Doping Agency) ban on Narsingh will apply for the league as well.”
WADA said the suspension on Narsingh applies to any local competition or league that is backed by the national federation, in this case the WFI.
“As per article 10.12.1 of the World Anti-Doping Code, the prohibition against participation imposed on an athlete during a period of ineligibility applies to competitions or activities that are authorized or organized by a Code Signatory or a member organization of a Code Signatory (i.e. national federation, confederations, etc), clubs, leagues, or other elite or national-level sporting activity funded by a government agency,” WADA said in an e-mail reply.
'Took remedial action for issues'
The Sushil Kumar controversy wasn't the only one to have hit the league in the inaugural season. There were reports of WFI parting ways with ProSportify as it was unhappy with the latter's organisational issues as well as defaulting on players' salaries. Kartikeya, however, said they took the necessary remedial action to correct the problems. “There was a particular team that did not make its payments last year. We stepped in and paid those players on their behalf. That's something which is neither desirable nor warranted. But it happened, and what matters more is what the remedial conduct is to the issues which crop up,” Kartikeya said.
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 "Sushil Kumar")
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