Commonwealth Games: The other Nawab of Najafgarh

Seldom has a non-cricketer gripped the imagination of an entire nation, as grappler Sushil Kumar has. The 31-year-old Sushil hails from Baprola, a place on the outskirts of Najafgarh, whose other favourite child is the cricketer, Virender Sehwag. Yet, Sushil holds his own.

Sushil has a class of his own, literally, for no Indian has two individual Olympic medals – a bronze from 2008 Beijing Games and a silver from 2012 London Games. But he isn't content. His next stop: a gold in Rio.

There may have been a few naysayers when Sushil took an enforced break because of a combination of injuries and a change in weight categories from 66kg to 74kg. But a silver medal winning effort in the Sassari International about six weeks ago indicated that Sushil was on his way back.

And on Tuesday night at the Scottish Exhibition Convention Centre (SECC), Sushil confirmed that with a series of comfortable wins en route to his second Commonwealth Games gold to go along with his World and Asian Championships gold from 2010, and also the four Commonwealth Championships.

At the start of his career, Sushil had success in the form of gold at World Cadet in 1998 and in 2000, he won gold in Junior Asian Championships. Coming into seniors, he had a bronze in 2003 Asians and was placed fourth in World Championships. But when it came to the Olympics at Athens, he was only 14th and went unnoticed.

Wins at the 2003, 2005 and 2007 (as also in 2009) Commonwealth Championships brought him into the limelight and once the Olympic bronze came in 2008, there was no looking back.

Now, his next goal is a third Olympic medal – a gold this time – when he hopes to compete at his fourth Olympic Games in 2016.

Happy but not overly excited after his win on Tuesday, Sushil put things in perspective. "I also needed to be sure. I had a series of injuries and my weight category had changed from 66kg to 74kg. For most of my career I competed in 66kg and won all those medals, so it was a challenge for me. I knew people were expecting and some felt I may not be the same after injuries," he said.

He maintained that his preparation, which included the competition in Italy, got him back on trail. "In Italy I realised I was progressing well and became confident after that. So, I was sure of a medal, actually gold."

An Indo-Pak clash is always a challenge for any sportsperson and Sushil felt it was the same for him. "Any wrestler is a challenge for most Indian sportspersons, there are expectations when we fight against Pakistan's challengers. But it turned out to quite easy and I am happy I was able to continue my transition from 66kg to 74kg."

Yet Sushil has one more challenge and that is to reduce his weight to 70kg, which is the category for him in Asian games in Incheon, Korea, in just over two months time. "Yes, I understand the difficulty but I feel coming down the category is simpler than fighting in heavier sections. I have over two months and I should manage that," said Sushil, who won a bronze in 66kg in 2006, but did not compete in 2010 due to injury.

"I have gold medals in Commonwealth Games and World Championships and I want to add an Asian Games gold to that," he says. "I am hoping to be ready for that in Korea."

As for the progress in Indian wrestling, he said, "Most weight categories have three or four and sometimes even more contenders. So the top wrestlers have stay in form and perform. But from the team's point of view, it shows a lot of bench strength."

Any youngsters that have impressed him? "Lot of the youngsters are good and they are putting in hard work. There is potential. I feel Amit Kumar in 48kg is hungry for success, and the gold medal here will boost his confidence. Among women, we have Vinesh. She is also very good and young, just 19," he said.

What about the Rio Olympics in two years time? "Last time we had two medals in London and we could have had at least one more. In two years time our youngsters will have more experience and now other wrestlers know Indians are strong. Yogeshwar (Dutt) did such a good job in London. As for myself I have a bronze and a silver, so it will be nice to complete the set with gold. I am working hard and am focused on it. So, hopefully it will happen."