Wrestlers on winning spree

Indian wrestling officials are confident of a flurry of medals in the latter part of the Asian junior championships, after the country bagged two gold, one silver and five bronze medals on the opening two days in Manila.

“Sushil Kumar’s bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games seems to have spurred grapplers on to bigger things,” a delighted Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secretary-general Kartar Singh told DNA on Friday.

“We were expecting a bagful of medals but just about everyone seems to be ensuring one for the country in this meet,” said Kartar, who was all praise for Suresh Yadav (men’s 60 kg Greco-Roman) and Navjot Kaur (women’s 72 kg), who won gold medals for the country.

“They are among our most promising wrestlers and success in this meet will help boost their confidence quite a bit,” said Kartar, a double Asian Games gold medallist who hails from Punjab.

“There seems to be a lot of excitement among wrestlers. The preparation camps for the Commonwealth Games have also given a boost to the sport. I think these medals will encourage others in the squad to push for top places. We have quite a few good prospects who will fight it out over the next two days,” said Kartar.

“At such meets, where opponents are largely unknown, it is often a matter of setting the tempo for your own team. Since the future of Indian wrestling depends a lot on these wrestlers, it is good to see them do so well in such meets,” he added.