Rana bares his fangs, bloodied Sushil wins

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 29

There was blood on the mat and outside as well. On a day when Sushil Kumar stamped his class over all his younger opponents, including Parveen Rana and Dinesh Kumar, a few of his supporters took the shine away from his gladiatorial performance.

Rana and his elder brother Naveen were beaten up by a group of people, allegedly for fighting against Sushil, the two-time Olympics medallist and Rana’s mentor from the Chhatrasal Stadium akhada.

The incident happened minutes after Sushil, blood dripping from a wound below his left eyebrow, won a very physical fight against Jitender of the Railways in the 74kg category. The tough 3-2 win bagged Sushil an automatic ticket for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Wrestling Championship.

Drawing blood

Before beating Jitender, Sushil beat Rana 7-2 in the most controversial bout of the day. Rana bit Sushil twice on his right forearm, seemed to be trying to injure his knee, and took several cheap shots at his face.

Referee Satyadev Malik was asked to officiate in this highly-anticipated bout because he, like the two wrestlers, is also with the Railways. The idea was that no one should be able to accuse Malik of a bias because all three represent the same institution, the Railways. 

At one point, Malik raised his fingers to award Sushil two caution points, but mat chairman Ashok Kumar did not heed his signal. Sushil even complained and showed his wounds to the jury of appeal. And the bad blood spilled outside.

Fight outside

“I was slapped; my elder brother was brutally thrashed. Mujhe jaan se maarne ki dhamki di (they threatened to kill me)... Because I dared to fight against Sushil, who is a senior and now a guru at Chhatrasal,” Rana said. “First I have to take my brother to hospital and then I will file an FIR.”

Rana said he recognised a few people who beat up him and his brother, saying they were from the Chhatrasal akhada. “I know them by face,” he said.

Sushil condemned the incident. “There was some commotion outside and so I was forced inside this room,” he said. “I totally condemn this. Such things cannot be tolerated in sports. Both (Jitender and Rana) touched my feet after the trials and I gave them my aashirwad.”

“He bit me, but no problem... It might be his tactics to stop me from performing well. All this is part of sports,” he added.

Police matter?

Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said he would take action if Rana files a complaint.

“We are not mulling over any such matter now. Parveen Rana approached us and told us about the incident. But if you ask me, I have no proof of what transpired. This is a police matter,” Singh said. “The federation was conducting the trials and nothing happened inside the venue. Now if someone complains, the federation will probe the incident.”

Sheen off

The fight took the sheen off a gritty performance by Sushil. His win today could have silenced the doubters who believed that his best years are over. After getting a bye in the first round, the 34-year-old easily beat Dinesh Kumar 10-0.

In the bout against Rana, Sushil went into a 3-0 lead after flipping Rana with a back salto move. Rana did make a mini comeback with a take-down but Sushil romped to a 7-2 win.

Underhand tactics

Rana’s underhand tactics enraged Sushil’s corner. His long-time mentor and father-in-law Satpal Singh even approached the jury of appeal and was angry at what had transpired on the mat. “He bit Sushil, tried to hurt his knees and break his already-injured fingers,” said a wrestler, requesting anonymity. “He knew of Sushil’s injuries because he has trained with him. So he was trying to target the same vulnerable areas.”

Tough bout

When the champion wrestler took on the much-younger Jitender, it was another physically draining fight. Sushil had to be bandaged after sustaining a cut over his left eye, and was attended to by the physios after a leg hold by Jitender hurt his knees. But Sushil won 3-2 to seal his place in the Indian team.

Last month, his comeback was marred by a series of walkovers during the National Championships, and today’s violence and controversy have taken the sheen off his performance.

---

CWG Games Squad

Freestyle: Rahul Aware (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Sushil Kumar (74kg), Somveer (86kg), Mausam Khatri (97kg) and Sumit (125kg)

Greco-Roman: Rajender (55kg), Gyanender (60kg), Vikram Kurade (63kg), Manish (67kg), Kuldeep Malik (72kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Harpreet Singh (82kg), Sunil (87kg), Hardeep (97kg), Naveen (130kg)

from The Tribune http://ift.tt/2lvCyLO